At least 22 Somalis die after boat drifts for weeks off Madagascar

Antananarivo: Madagascar provided assistance Monday to 48 Somali nationals rescued from boats drifting off the island s coast after at least 22 others...

Antananarivo: Madagascar provided assistance Monday to 48 Somali nationals rescued from boats drifting off the island's coast after at least 22 others from the same group died at sea, officials said.

Fishermen discovered the survivors in two boats on Friday and took them to the Nosy Be island at the northwestern tip of Madagascar, authorities said.

At least seven people died on one boat and 15 on the other, Madagascar's Port, Maritime and River Authority (APMF) said in a statement on Friday.

The boats, initially transporting 70 people together, "were victim of engine failures and drifted at sea", it said.

They left Somalia on November 2 and were headed to the Comoros islands off Africa's eastern coast and the French department of Mayotte, the agency said.