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 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.

"In total, 48 people have survived and are currently under the surveillance and medical care of professionals."

The agency's director general Jean-Edmond Randrianantenaina said 25 people had died. 

The authorities had asked Somalia to assist with repatriating the survivors, who were being held at a gymnasium "under surveillance of law enforcement", he said.

Migrants often make the dangerous journey to the Comoros and Mayotte, which despite being France's poorest department has French infrastructure and welfare.

Earlier this month, at least 25 people, including women and children, died when their boat was deliberately capsized by traffickers off the Comoros.