CAIRO: A boat carrying immigrants sank At least 49 people have died and 140 are missing off the coast of Yemen, the UN International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.
The boat was carrying approximately 260 people Somalis And Ethiopians It sank off Yemen’s southern coast on Monday while making the 320-kilometer (200-mile) journey from Somalia’s northern coast across the Gulf of Aden, the IOM said in a statement.
It was stated that search efforts continue and 71 people have been rescued so far. It was stated that there were 31 women and 6 children among the dead.
Yemen is an important route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa trying to reach the Gulf countries for work. Despite nearly a decade of civil war in Yemen, the number of migrants arriving each year has tripled from 2021 to 2023, from about 27,000 to more than 90,000, the IOM said last month. According to the agency, there are currently approximately 380,000 migrants in Yemen.
To reach Yemen, migrants are taken by smugglers across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden, often in dangerous, overcrowded boats. At least 62 people lost their lives in two ship accidents that occurred off the coast of Djibouti in April while trying to reach Yemen. The IOM said at least 1,860 people died or went missing along the route, 480 of whom drowned.
Monday’s ship sinking “is another reminder of the urgent need to work together to address pressing migration challenges and ensure the safety and security of migrants along migration routes,” IOM spokesman Mohammedali Abunajela said.