Over 100 migrants are missing after smugglers forced them to swim in the Red Sea off Djibouti. The International Organization for Migration reports 48 confirmed deaths from the incident involving two boats carrying 310 people from Yemen. A search and rescue operation is ongoing, highlighting the dangers of this migration route.
The eastern migration route from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula is one of the busiest globally, with many fleeing conflict and seeking economic opportunities. This incident marks a significant tragedy in a year already noted for high migrant fatalities at sea.
-
The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
-
Gran Canaria, also Grand Canary Island, is the second most populous of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain.
-
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe. Covering an area of 357,022 square kilometres, it lies between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south.
-
Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country located in the Horn of Africa in East Africa. It is bordered by Somalia in the south, Ethiopia in the south and west, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the east.
-
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head.
-
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is the second-largest Arab sovereign state in the peninsula, occupying 527,970 square kilometres.
-
Tenerife is the largest and most populated island of the eight Canary Islands. It is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 square kilometres and 917,841 inhabitants at the start of 2019, 43 percent of the total population o
-
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa, covering 163,610 square kilometres. Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is also the northernmost point on the African continent.
-
The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. Its members have a combined area of 4,233,255.3 km² and an estimated total population of about 447 million.
-
The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish archipelago and the southernmost autonomous community of Spain located in the Atlantic Ocean, in a region known as Macaronesia, 100 kilometres west of Morocco at the closest point.
-
Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southwestern Europe with some pockets of territory across the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean. Its continental European territory is situated on the Iberian Peninsula.
-
Central Europe is the region comprising the central part of Europe. Central Europe occupies continuous territories that are otherwise sometimes considered parts of Western Europe, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe.
-
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden.