A boat carrying African migrants capsized off Yemen’s coast, killing 68 people with 74 others still missing, according to the UN’s migration agency. This marks the latest in a string of deadly shipwrecks involving migrants trying to escape conflict and poverty in search of better lives in wealthy Gulf nations.
The vessel, carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants, sank in the Gulf of Aden near Yemen’s southern Abyan province early Sunday, said the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Yemen. Abdusattor Esoev reported that 54 bodies washed ashore in Khanfar district, while 14 more were recovered and taken to a hospital morgue in Zinjibar, Abyan’s capital.
Only 12 people survived the disaster, with the remaining passengers unaccounted for and feared dead. Local authorities launched a large-scale search operation after discovering numerous bodies scattered along the shoreline.
Yemen remains a key transit point for African migrants despite its ongoing civil war, with smugglers transporting people across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in often overcrowded, unsafe boats. Recent months have seen hundreds perish in similar incidents, including a March tragedy where two died and 186 went missing after four boats capsized near Yemen and Djibouti.
The IOM reported that over 60,000 migrants reached Yemen this year – a significant drop from 97,200 in 2023 – likely due to increased maritime patrols.
