86 Die at Sea After They’re Forced to Jump
Passengers were forced to jump into the sea at gunpoint after the cargo boat they were traveling in developed engine problems, a radio operator and local journalists said Friday. At least 86 people were reported killed.
An official in the coastal Somaliland village of Lasqory confirmed the incident, journalists said. The official, Mohammed Adan Esa, reported that 70 passengers survived but said five died of malnutrition.
The boat, bound for Yemen, left the port of Bosaso 10 days ago with more than 150 people aboard, the radio operator said.
A fishing boat later towed the vessel from the Gulf of Aden to Lasqory with the survivors.
“I saw the boat that was almost underwater on the horizon around noon [Thursday],” said Esa, the Somali district secretary. “We sent fishing boats to rescue the passengers.”
The crew’s whereabouts were not known, Esa said.
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