Mitsamiouli (population 6,100) is a town on the northwest coast of

Grande Comore Grande Comore (; ) is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which i ...

in the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

History

On 23 November 1996,

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was a scheduled international flight serving the route Addis Ababa–Nairobi–Brazzaville–Lagos–Abidjan. On 23 November 1996, the aircraft serving the flight, a Boeing 767-200ER, was hijacked en route from A ...

made a crash-landing in the shallow waters offshore from Le Galawa Beach Hotel in Mitsamiouli. Of the 175 passengers, 125 died, despite rescue attempts by island residents and tourists.

Geography

Mitsamiouli lies on the northwest coast of the island, along the main coast road RN-1 and RN-3. This coastal road connects it to Djomani and Ntsaouéni further to the south on the west coast and Ivoini on the northeast coast. The RR 122 road runs south from Mitsamiouli and leads to the village of Bangoi Mafsankoa further inland, which has its own mosque. Lac Sale Crater – Lac Sale is an ancient volcano crater, near Mitsamihuli, filled with sea water.

Economy

Tourism is important in the area, particularly from European honeymooners. Fishing is also practiced in Mitsamihuli.

Notable people

Djoueria Abdallah, the first female member of the

Assembly of the Union of the Comoros The unicameral Assembly of the Union of the Comoros is the country's legislative body. It was established in 2004. Legislative history The Comorian legislative body, Chamber of Deputies, was established in 1961. It was reconstituted as the Na ...

and the singer Chamsia Sagaf came from this town.

References

Populated places in Grande Comore {{Comoros-geo-stub