Nairobi: As many as 55 Somalis and Ethiopians were drowned or missing after an overcrowded boat capsized off the coast of Somalia, the UN refugee agency said Thursday.
The overcrowded boat started facing difficulty almost immediately after leaving the port of Bosasso in northern Somalia Tuesday. It capsized just 15 minutes into its journey.
The UN refugee agency said it was greatly saddened by the incident -- the biggest loss of life in the Gulf of Aden since February 2011 when 57 Somali refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa drowned while attempting to reach Yemen.
At least 23 bodies have been recovered, including those of 14 women, eight men and a boy said to be less than four years old, had been recovered till last report.
IANS
First Published: Friday, December 21, 2012, 00:32