Death toll rises to 109 in Djibouti boat accident

DJIBOUTI – The death toll from a ship capsize off the coast of the Red Sea state of Djibouti rose to at least 109 on Saturday.

The toll climbed as the search went on for an unknown number of people still believed missing from Thursday’s accident, thought to be the worst disaster since the country won independence from France in 1975. Security forces recovered more bodies from the waters off the Port of Djibouti and brought them to the pier for identification, according to the state news agency, Agence Djiboutienne d’Information (ADI).Many of the dead and wounded were elderly and unable to swim.On Friday, the confirmed death toll had stood at 73.At least 77 people are believed to have survived the accident apparently caused by the overloading of the vessel – designed to transport cargo and not more than about 150 people.It was carrying between 250 and 300 passengers.The exact number of people on board, most of whom were travelling to a religious gathering, is unknown as there was no passenger list for the traditional wooden boat named the al-Baraqua II.Djibouti naval commander Colonel Abdourahman Aden Cher said on Friday that the search would continue until all of those believed missing are recovered.Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh has ordered a full investigation into the accident, which occurred shortly after the boat left the port en route to the town of Tadjourah where a Muslim religious festival was held on Friday.Witnesses said the boat became unbalanced and overturned after many passengers crowded to one side of the deck shortly before the accident.A Djiboutian official who spoke to Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity said some survivors said that the accident occurred after passengers asked the captain to shut off the boat’s engines for a prayer service.Djibouti, located at the southern end of the Red Sea on the Gulf of Aden, is a key staging post between the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean.- Nampa-AFPSecurity forces recovered more bodies from the waters off the Port of Djibouti and brought them to the pier for identification, according to the state news agency, Agence Djiboutienne d’Information (ADI).Many of the dead and wounded were elderly and unable to swim.On Friday, the confirmed death toll had stood at 73.At least 77 people are believed to have survived the accident apparently caused by the overloading of the vessel – designed to transport cargo and not more than about 150 people.It was carrying between 250 and 300 passengers.The exact number of people on board, most of whom were travelling to a religious gathering, is unknown as there was no passenger list for the traditional wooden boat named the al-Baraqua II.Djibouti naval commander Colonel Abdourahman Aden Cher said on Friday that the search would continue until all of those believed missing are recovered.Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh has ordered a full investigation into the accident, which occurred shortly after the boat left the port en route to the town of Tadjourah where a Muslim religious festival was held on Friday.Witnesses said the boat became unbalanced and overturned after many passengers crowded to one side of the deck shortly before the accident.A Djiboutian official who spoke to Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity said some survivors said that the accident occurred after passengers asked the captain to shut off the boat’s engines for a prayer service.Djibouti, located at the southern end of the Red Sea on the Gulf of Aden, is a key staging post between the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean. – Nampa-AFP