Close to 200 migrants die in boat fire off Sudan

A semi-official Sudanese news agency reported on Tuesday that 197 African migrants bound for Saudi Arabia were feared to have drowned off Sudan’s north-eastern coast.

The Sudan Media Centre said that the boat packed with illegal migrants caught fire after launching from the Red Sea State and sailing for four hours in Sudanese territorial waters. The report says three migrants have been rescued and authorities are still searching for possible survivors.

The four Yemeni owners of the Cuban-flagged boat were arrested, it said.

The victims were immigrants from surrounding African countries who were trying to cross the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia.

The operation was planned and implemented in Tokar, 150kmsouth of Port Sudan near the Eritrean border, the report said. - Sapa-AP, Sapa-DPA