MITSAMIOULI: At least 18 African migrants who were trying to reach the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte have drowned off the Comoros while trying to reach shore, officials and rescuers said on Thursday.

Thirty people had been found alive after smugglers dropped the group off the coast of the town of Mitsamiouli at the northern tip of the Comoros’ largest island, Grande Comore, a minister said.

Survivors said they were from the Democratic Republic of Congo and had been headed to neighbouring Mayotte, an attractive destination for migrants because of its French infrastructure and welfare.

They had been dropped offshore and many did not know how to swim, a young man who helped with the rescue said.

“Last night, we found eight dead. The bodies were recovered by the residents of Mitsamiouli, fishermen and authorities,” interior minister Mohamed Ahamada Assoumani told reporters.

“This morning, we were able to recover nine bodies. At present we have 17 dead. The coastguard is searching for the four missing bodies,” he said. “They say they are Congolese, they come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the minister said.

The head of the Mitsamiouli hospital said later that the death toll had risen to 18 after another body was found. Even though it is France’s poorest department, Mayotte is a popular destination for migrants from the African continent and the poorer Comoros who are seeking a better life.

Many pay smugglers to make the dangerous sea crossing from the continent, with thousands of people dying on the route, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

Migrants headed to Mayotte have made landfall at the Comoros before but this was the first time there had been a loss of life, United Nations representative James Tsok Bot said.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2026