By OLIVER JIA

The UN migration agency reports that there are numerous East Africans still missing because two boats capsized a few days ago. These boats carried vulnerable migrants, hoping to find a good place to survive and work. The destination was Yemen because Saudi Arabia is a top choice for East Africans.

According to witnesses, these boats sank 30 minutes after leaving Tuesday because of overloading. The boats located in the Obock region of northeastern Djibouti. The Djiboutian coast guard has found 30 bodies and 16 survivors. 

One of the survivors who was only 18 years old, explained that one of the boats carried 130 people, including 16 women. 

The coast guard still performs rescue operations because there are many persons still missing. The migration agency said that some teams and official departments also join this mission to find more survivors.  

The UN migration agency said drownings had recorded at least 199 times since 2014. Some officials also expressed that these migrants usually are under 25 years old, most of them children. They all trying to escape a hard life.

“This sad event showed that there is high risk for these vulnerable migrants who want to immigrate to the better place,”  Lalini Veerassamy, representing the migration agency, said in a statement.

They hope to resolve these problems as soon as possible.