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Migrants drown after being dropped by smugglers off Comoros

Farid Zuchrinata With AFP, Reuters
March 19, 2026

At least 18 people drowned while trying to reach the French island of Mayotte. Many others were stranded hundreds of kilometers short of their destination.

https://p.dw.com/p/5AiC9
Survivors of a drowning incident sit in a ward at a hospital in Mitsamiouli on March 19, 2026
The survivors remain stranded hundreds of kilometers short of their destination in MayotteImage: Ibrahim Youssouf/AFP

At least 18 African refugees drowned off Comoros after smugglers dropped them into the water some distance from shore as they tried to reach the French island of Mayotte, officials and rescuers said Thursday. About 30 others survived.

The victims had been set adrift near the town of Mitsamiouli, located on the northern tip of Comoro's largest island Grande Comore. Many could not swim.

Survivors said they had traveled from the Democratic Republic of Congo and were headed to Mayotte, a French overseas territory that often draws migrants with its French infrastructure and social services.

'We had no bread and water,' survivor said

A 25-year-old survivor recalled his long 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 French news agency AFP.

"Very quickly, we could tell the captain was lost. At one point, we had no bread or water."

Around 50 people were on board, security officials estimated.

Hospital staff carry the body of a victim of a drowning incident, at a hospital in Mitsamiouli on March 19, 2026
The Comoros' interior minister said most ​of the migrants were from CongoImage: Ibrahim Youssouf/AFP

A local in Mitsamiouli recalled hearing cries from the water before arriving at the scene. "We were watching the Barca-Newcastle match when we heard screams. We found men, women, children — they thought they had reached Mayotte."

Instead, they were nearly 200 kilometers short.

Thousands have died trying to reach Mayotte

Mayotte, despite being France's poorest department — a French territorial division — remains a powerful draw for migrants from across Africa and the Comoros.

Many pay smugglers for the perilous sea crossing, where thousands have died along the route in recent years, according to United Nation's migration agency. In 2024, at least 25 people died near Mayotte when a smuggling boat capsized, the agency said.

Hospital staff wait for victims and survivors of a drowning incident at a hospital in Mitsamiouli on March 19, 2026
The migrants were heading to Mayotte, a French territory between Mozambique and MadagascarImage: Ibrahim Youssouf/AFP

Back on Grande Comore, residents, fishermen, and authorities pulled bodies from the water, according to the Comoros' interior minister.

He said the coastguard is still searching for four missing bodies.

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher