Date: Tuesday, 29 January 2019
Local police had found five bodies and search efforts were underway, the U.N. statement said. Witnesses said the boats were overloaded and large waves caused them to tip over about a half-hour after departing.
The migration agency said its team at the site found an 18-year-old survivor who reportedly boarded a boat with another 130 people, including 16 women. There were no immediate details on the second boat.
Thousands of migrants from the turbulent Horn of Africa region set off every year from Djibouti to cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait for the Arabian Peninsula with hopes of finding work in rich Gulf countries.
The crossing is dangerous, with smugglers in some cases forcing migrants overboard before reaching their destination. Other boats have been fired on as they approach the coast of Yemen, where fighting continues between pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels.