By Hassan Adan
MOGADISHU- At least 17 Somali migrants have died after a boat bound for Europe capsized off the Algerian coast, according to officials at Somalia’s embassy in Algeria
Somalia ambassador to Algeria, Yusuf Ahmed Hassan, said the victims — 12 men and five women — drowned when the vessel overturned near the coastal town of Bou Ismail, west of Algiers.
“I was contacted by families searching for their missing children,” ambassador Hassan said, adding that Algerian authorities confirmed the deaths in a coastal province about 100 kilometres from the capital.
He said he later visited hospitals where the bodies had been taken.
“I saw the bodies myself,” he said.
Authorities in According to Somalia officials Algeria have not yet provided full details on what caused the vessel to capsize, but migrant boats on the western Mediterranean route are often overcrowded and unfit for long journeys, increasing the risk of fatal accidents.
The incident is part of a wider pattern of tragedies involving migrants from the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, who travel through Libya and Algeria in an attempt to reach Spain or other parts of Europe.
Over the past decade, the Mediterranean Sea has become one of the deadliest migration routes in the world, with tens of thousands of people believed to have died or gone missing while attempting the journey.
Many of these incidents involve small boats that either capsize or disappear without trace.
Somali migrants have been among the victims in multiple shipwrecks in recent years.
In separate incidents off Libya’s coast, dozens have drowned when overloaded vessels sank shortly after departure.
In another tragedy along the eastern migration route, migrants from the Horn of Africa — including Somalis — lost their lives when a boat went down off the coast of Yemen.
Humanitarian groups say many such disasters are never fully documented, as entire boats can vanish at sea without survivors to report what happened.
Somali authorities say the continued loss of life reflects the pressures driving young people to leave, including insecurity, recurring drought and limited economic opportunities.
A senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said the government was working to verify the identities of the victims and support their families.
“This is a painful loss for the nation,” the official said. “We urge our youth not to risk their lives through irregular migration and to be aware of the dangers posed by trafficking networks.”
The tragedy comes shortly after Somalia repatriated 174 of its citizens from Libya early last week, many of whom had endured harsh detention conditions and abuse while trying to make their way to Europe.
Despite such efforts, migration through North Africa continues, with smugglers adapting routes as enforcement tightens.
For many, the journey across the Mediterranean remains a final and often deadly gamble in search of a better future.
