Woman Dies on Boat Headed for Mayotte After Smuggler’s Deal Goes Wrong
The family of beauty salon owner Fathi Hussein from Mogadishu, Somalia is grieving after her tragic death at sea. Fathi had paid smugglers to take her to the French island of Mayotte, but the journey went horribly wrong.
Her stepsister, Samira, told the BBC that survivors reported Fathi died from hunger aboard two small boats adrift in the Indian Ocean for about 14 days after being abandoned by the smugglers. The passengers survived by eating raw fish and drinking seawater. Fathi reportedly began hallucinating before she died, and her body was eventually thrown into the ocean.
The family was informed by survivors rescued off the coast of Madagascar, where they learned that over 70 people were on the boats, with 24 dead and 48 survivors.
Fathi had secretly planned the journey, hiding it from her family, and financed the trip with money from her salon business. Her decision remains a mystery, especially as she had a successful life in Mogadishu.
The International Migration Organization (IMO) stated that hundreds of migrants die annually while attempting to reach Mayotte, a perilous journey of over 1,100 km across the Indian Ocean. This year has been one of the deadliest for migrants making the same route.