More than 130 African migrants feared drowned off Djibouti - UN

Immigrants from Ethiopia wait for a boat to cross into Yemen outside the town of Obock, Djibouti on February 22, 2015. [Photo, File]

More than 130 African migrants were missing off Djibouti after two overloaded boats capsized in rough seas, the United Nations migration agency said.

The vessels were heading to Yemen, a gateway to Gulf countries where many migrants hope to find jobs and better lives, said Joel Millman, spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Alerted by local residents, a team of gendarmes found two survivors and the bodies of five migrants. The boats were believed to have capsized off Godoria, in Djibouti's Obock region.

IOM staff identified an 18-year-old male survivor believed to have among 130 passengers on the first boat, but he had no information on the second craft, the IOM said.