MOSCOW, August 13 (RIA Novosti) - Seventeen illegal migrants were confirmed dead and 19 missing after a small boat overturned in the Indian Ocean near the French-administered island of Mayotte, local media reported Monday.
The small fishing boat, known as a kwassa-kwassa, sailed from Anjouan in the Comoros Islands and wrecked a few dozen kilometers from Mayotte.
Four survivors have been brought to the nearby hospital in Pamandzi commune, and local rescue services are now searching for the rest of the passengers.
Comoros, which consists of three main islands - Grande Comore, Moheli, Anjouan - is one of world's poorest countries since declaring independence from France in 1975.
Each year, hundreds of residents try to make the 50-mile journey in search of a better life on Mayotte.
