At least 18 African refugees drowned off Comoros after smugglers forced them into the sea some distance from shore as they tried to reach the French island of Mayotte, officials and rescuers said Thursday. About 30 others survived.
The group had been set adrift near Mitsamiouli on the northern tip of Grande Comore. Many of those in the water could not swim.
Survivors said they had travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo and were heading for Mayotte, a French overseas territory whose French services and infrastructure attract migrants.
A 25-year-old survivor described his journey from North Kivu: “I spent three days in the forest. Then I took a bus to Dar es Salaam. From there, we took a boat. The journey lasted seven days,” he told AFP. “Very quickly, we could tell the captain was lost. At one point, we had no bread or water.”
Security officials estimated about 50 people had been on board.
A local in Mitsamiouli said residents heard cries from the water while watching a football match. “We found men, women, children — they thought they had reached Mayotte,” the local said. In fact, they were nearly 200 kilometres short.
Mayotte, despite being France’s poorest department, remains a strong draw for migrants from across Africa and the Comoros. Many pay smugglers for the hazardous sea crossing; thousands have died on the route in recent years, the UN migration agency says. In 2024 at least 25 people died near Mayotte when a smuggling boat capsized, the agency reported.
On Grande Comore, residents, fishermen and authorities recovered bodies from the water, the interior minister said. The coastguard is still searching for four missing people.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher