Death Toll Rises – 4 Migrant Boats Shipwrecks
June 27
A vessel carrying some 150 asylum seekers capsized on the Indian Ocean near Christmas Island. A satellite phone call was made by one of the passengers stating the vessel was in distress and required assistance. The 122 meter long livestock carrier Bison Express had passed by the boat earlier taking a photo of the crowded decks of the boat. The Bison Express was contacted by the authorities to assist while they dispatched two Australian Navy vessels to the scene. Another merchant vessel arrived on scene to assist in search and rescue operations. The number of survivors were not known by early reports.
June 21
The 56 meter long freighter Jireh ran aground near Mona Island, Puerto Rico. The vessel loaded with 100 migrants passengers was en route to St. Martin when it struck a reef. Some 80 passengers swam ashore to the island with the remaining passengers staying on board. Read more on our prior posting…
June 20
A migrant boat capsizes and sinks on Lake Malawi north of Lilongwe, Malawi. The vessel was overloaded with some 60 immigrants from Ethiopia who were trying to reach South Africa. Local villagers began to find bodies the following morning and contacted the authorities. Some 47 bodies were recovered from the lake. Three men were later arrested connected to the vessel for illegal human trafficking.
Related articles
- At Least 47 Migrants Found Dead After Boat Capsizes In Lake Malawi (ibtimes.com)
- Somali migrants ‘drown in Malawi’ (bbc.co.uk)
- 47 die after boat capsizes on Lake Malawi (news.smh.com.au)
- Hope running out for 90 missing from capsized boat (thehindu.com)
- Dozens feared dead as packed asylum boat capsizes off Christmas Island (theage.com.au)
- Search over for asylum seeker survivors (nzherald.co.nz)
June 19
The AMSA received a call from an unnamed vessel that a vessel had sank between Christmas Island and the Indonesian mainland. The boat was overloaded with some 200 migrants and asylum seekers when it got caught in bad weather. The vessel quickly lost stability and capsized sending people into the water. The authorities dispatched multiple aircraft and rescue vessels to the scene. Some 110 survivors were pulled from the water. Reports state only men survived and the majority of those who had perished were women and children. The survivors were mostly from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
