49 dead, 140 missing as migrant boat sinks off Yemen coast: UN
The boat was carrying about 260 Somalis and Ethiopians from the northern coast of Somalia on a 320-kilometre (200-mile) journey in the Gulf of Aden when it sank off the southern coast of Yemen on Monday.
A boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday, killing at least 49 people and leaving 140 others missing, the United Nations agency said.
The boat was carrying about 260 Somalis and Ethiopians from the northern coast of Somalia and was on a 320-kilometer (200-mile) journey in the Gulf of Aden when it sank off the southern coast of Yemen on Monday, the International Organization for Migration said in a statement.
The group said 71 people had been rescued and the search was ongoing. The dead also included 31 women and six children.
Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa reaching Gulf countries for work. Despite Yemen’s nearly decade-long civil war, the number of migrants arriving has tripled in recent years, rising from about 27,000 in 2021 to more than 90,000 last year, the IOM said last month. About 380,000 migrants are currently in Yemen, according to the agency.
To reach Yemen, smugglers take migrants across the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden on often dangerous, overcrowded boats. In April, at least 62 people died when two ships sank off the coast of Djibouti while trying to reach Yemen. At least 1,860 people were killed or missing on this route, including 480 who drowned, the IOM said.
“Monday’s incident is a reminder of the urgent need to work together to address migration challenges and ensure the safety of migrants on migration routes,” IOM spokesperson Mohamedali Abunajela said.
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