Over 180 migrants feared dead after shipwrecks off Yemen's coast, U.N. migration agency says
At least two people have died and 186 others are missing after four boats carrying migrants from Africa capsized overnight in waters off Yemen and Djibouti, the U.N.'s migration agency said on Friday.
Two vessels capsized off Yemen late Thursday, said Tamim Eleian, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration, or IOM. Two crewmembers were rescued, but 181 migrants and five Yemeni crewmembers remain missing, he told The Associated Press. At least 124 men and 57 women were on board, the news statement said.
Yemen's Civil Aviation and Meteorology Authority had advised against travel due to strong winds and high waves, which the IOM said smugglers ignored.
"These latest shipwrecks are a sobering reminder of the grave dangers migrants endure in search of a better future," said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM's Chief of Mission in Yemen. "Smugglers continue to gamble with human lives, pushing people onto dangerous journeys despite clear weather warnings. There is a critical need for adequate protection and safe alternatives for migrants. Without urgent action, more lives could be lost and more families will be left grieving."
Two other boats capsized off the tiny African nation of Djibouti around the same time, he said. Two bodies of migrants were recovered, and all others on board were rescued.
Strong winds caused the two boats to capsize near the beach in Djibouti after they started sailing off, Esoev said.
The third boat, which capsized off the Dhubab district in the Taiz governorate, southwestern Yemen, was carrying 31 Ethiopian migrants and three Yemeni crew.
The fourth boat, which capsized near the same area, was heading to the Ahwar district in the Abyan governorate and carried 150 Ethiopian migrants and four Yemeni crew.
Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa trying to reach Gulf countries for work, with hundreds of thousands attempting the route each year. To reach Yemen, migrants are taken by smugglers on often dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden.
The numbers making it to Yemen reached 97,200 in 2023 — triple the number in 2021. Last year, the number dropped to just under 61,000, probably because of greater patrolling of the waters, according to an IOM report this month.
Over the past decade, at least 2,082 migrants have disappeared along the route, including 693 known to have drowned, according to the IOM. Some 380,000 migrants are currently in Yemen.
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