At least 54 migrants die as boat sinks off Yemen, dozens missing
The boat capsized off the Ahwar district in Yemen's southern Abyan province on the Arabian Sea, security sources said.
Abdul Qadir Bajameel, a provincial health official, said 10 of about 150 people on board were rescued — nine Ethiopians and one Yemeni — but dozens remained missing. Two medics said rescuers were searching for survivors.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Yemen continues to witness a significant increase in the influx of irregular migrants arriving from Africa.
Migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab strait that separates Djibouti and Eritrea from Yemen every year on flimsy boats in the hope of reaching Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to seek employment.
The IOM described the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen as 'one of the world's busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes'. It said it recorded the arrival of more than 60,000 migrants in Yemen last year.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

IOL News
04-08-2025
- IOL News
At least 68 dead after migrant boat sinks off Yemen
A shipwreck off Yemen has killed at least 68 people, the UN's migration agency said Monday, with dozens still missing after the boat carrying mostly Ethiopians sank. Picture: Pixabay A shipwreck off Yemen has killed at least 68 people, the UN's migration agency said Monday, with dozens still missing after the boat carrying mostly Ethiopians sank. The International Organization for Migration's country chief of mission, Abdusattor Esoev, told AFP that "as of last night, 68 people aboard the boat were killed, but only 12 out of 157 have been rescued so far. The fate of the missing is still unknown." On Sunday, two security sources in southern Yemen's Abyan province -- a frequent destination for migrant smuggling boats -- gave a preliminary toll of 27 killed in the shipwreck. Despite the war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict. Each year, thousands brave the so-called "Eastern Route" from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries.

TimesLIVE
04-08-2025
- TimesLIVE
At least 54 migrants die as boat sinks off Yemen, dozens missing
At least 54 migrants died when a boat carrying about 150 people sank off Yemen's coast in bad weather on Sunday, with dozens unaccounted for, health officials said. The boat capsized off the Ahwar district in Yemen's southern Abyan province on the Arabian Sea, security sources said. Abdul Qadir Bajameel, a provincial health official, said 10 of about 150 people on board were rescued — nine Ethiopians and one Yemeni — but dozens remained missing. Two medics said rescuers were searching for survivors. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Yemen continues to witness a significant increase in the influx of irregular migrants arriving from Africa. Migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab strait that separates Djibouti and Eritrea from Yemen every year on flimsy boats in the hope of reaching Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to seek employment. The IOM described the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen as 'one of the world's busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes'. It said it recorded the arrival of more than 60,000 migrants in Yemen last year.


Daily Maverick
03-08-2025
- Daily Maverick
At least 54 migrants die as boat sinks off Yemen, dozens missing
The boat capsized off the Ahwar district in Yemen's southern Abyan province on the Arabian Sea, security sources said. Abdul Qadir Bajameel, a provincial health official, said 10 of the around 150 people on board were rescued – nine Ethiopians and one Yemeni – but dozens remained missing. Two medics said rescuers were still looking for survivors. The International Organization for Migration says Yemen continues to witness a significant increase in the influx of irregular migrants arriving from Africa. Migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab strait that separates Djibouti and Eritrea from Yemen each year on flimsy boats in the hope of reaching Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the hope of finding work. The IOM describes the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen as 'one of the world's busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes'. It said it recorded the arrival of more than 60,000 migrants in Yemen last year.