At least 11 killed after Somali smuggler boat capsizes

[News_Editor]

At least 11 killed after Somali smuggler boat capsizes

2012-02-11 17:40:19 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least eleven people have been confirmed dead while 34 others remain missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Somalia earlier this week, the United Nations (UN) reported on Saturday.

According to survivors, the boat left on February 4 and was carrying 58 passengers and three smugglers who were attempting to sail towards Yemen. The survivors said the boat's engine broke down shortly after taking off, after which the smugglers forced 22 passengers overboard.

The accident ultimately happened on Wednesday when the boat capsized in the Gulf of Aden after it had been adrift for five days in rough seas and bad weather. As of Friday, eleven bodies had been recovered on beaches near the village of Ceelaayo, located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Bossaso.

"UNHCR is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Adrian Edwards, adding that authorities in the Somali port town of Bossaso are investigating the incident. He called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

In addition to the fatalities, locals have also found at least thirteen survivors, including two women and two teenagers.

The UNCHR said that along with local authorities, their partners have coordinated and organized the transport of the survivors from the village of Qaw to Bossaso for medical treatment. Most of the survivors were reported to be suffering from skin burns caused by fuel inside the boat.

Every year tens of thousands of Somalis and Ethiopians – fleeing violence, human rights abuses and poverty in the Horn of Africa – pay smugglers to ferry them across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. However, many of the immigrants never make it to Yemen as the boats capsize or smugglers beat passengers to death, force them overboard, or disembark people too far from shores.

In 2009, the UNHCR teamed up with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other partners to alert people planning to cross the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden and spread awareness about the dangers.

But despite growing instability and worsening security in Yemen, a record 103,000 refugees, asylum seekers and migrants made the journey across the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in 2011.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-02-11