At least 68 dead after migrant boat capsizes off Yemen's coast
The vessel overturned near the province of Abyan during rough weather. According to Abdusattor Esoev, the Yemen chief for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), only 12 people have been rescued so far. 'The fate of the missing is still unknown,' he told the BBC.
Most of those on board are believed to be Ethiopian nationals, attempting the dangerous journey from the Horn of Africa to Gulf countries in search of work and stability. The IOM called the incident 'heartbreaking' and said it is another grim reminder of the risks migrants face when using irregular routes often controlled by smugglers.
The bodies of 54 migrants were discovered along the shores of Khanfar district, while 14 others were taken to a morgue in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, according to reports from the Associated Press (AP). The Abyan security directorate confirmed an extensive search and recovery operation is ongoing along a wide stretch of coastline.
'This heartbreaking incident underscores the urgent need for enhanced protection mechanisms for migrants undertaking perilous journeys, often facilitated by unscrupulous smugglers who exploit desperation and vulnerability,' said an IOM spokesperson.
Esoev also reiterated the organization's call for stronger legal migration frameworks. 'What we are advocating for all member states… is to enhance their regular pathways so people can take legal ways in order to migrate, instead of being trapped or deceived by smugglers and taking those dangerous journeys,' he said.
Despite ongoing instability and conflict, Yemen remains a major transit point for migrants heading toward Saudi Arabia. The journey across the Gulf of Aden is considered one of the busiest and most hazardous migration routes in the world.
In March, two other boats carrying over 180 migrants sank off Yemen's Dhubab district, with almost all passengers presumed dead. The IOM has also warned that smugglers are increasingly launching boats in unsafe conditions to evade patrols, further endangering lives.
More than 60,000 migrants have arrived in Yemen so far in 2024, many unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Over the last decade, the IOM's Missing Migrants Project has recorded more than 3,400 deaths and disappearances along this route, with 1,400 of them attributed to drowning.
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Jordan Times
3 days ago
- Jordan Times
76 dead, dozens missing after migrant boat sinks off Yemen
DUBAI — At least 76 people were killed, and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen, in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP Monday. Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The UN migration agency said 157 people were on board. Sunday's incident was "one of the deadliest" migrant shipwrecks off Yemen this year, Abdusattor Esoev, the International Organization for Migration's chief of mission for Yemen, told AFP. The ship was headed to Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states. Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen's Aden, near Abyan, a security official said. The UN agency earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead, with Esoev telling AFP that "the fate of the missing is still unknown". Despite the civil 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. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's secretary of state, said the Pope was "deeply saddened by the devastating loss of life". 'No choice' 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 such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents. "This route is predominantly controlled by smugglers and human-trafficking networks... Refugees and migrants have no other alternative but to hire their services," Ayla Bonfiglio, of the Mixed Migration Centre research and policy organisation, told AFP. "Migrants are well aware of the risks, but with no legal pathways and families relying on remittances from Saudi Arabia or the Emirates, many feel they have no choice," she added. Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced 150 migrants off a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM. The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province's security directorate and an IOM source. Yemeni security forces were recovering a "significant" number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday. On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration and human trafficking. Once in Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety. The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys. In April, more than 60 people were killed in a strike blamed on the United States that hit a migrant detention centre in Yemen, according to the Huthi rebels who control much of the country. The wealthy Gulf monarchies host significant populations of foreign workers from South Asia and Africa.
Roya News
4 days ago
- Roya News
At least 68 dead after migrant boat capsizes off Yemen's coast
At least 68 migrants have died and many remain missing after a boat carrying approximately 157 people capsized off Yemen's southern coast on Sunday, in what is being described as one of the deadliest recent maritime tragedies in the region. The vessel overturned near the province of Abyan during rough weather. According to Abdusattor Esoev, the Yemen chief for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), only 12 people have been rescued so far. 'The fate of the missing is still unknown,' he told the BBC. Most of those on board are believed to be Ethiopian nationals, attempting the dangerous journey from the Horn of Africa to Gulf countries in search of work and stability. The IOM called the incident 'heartbreaking' and said it is another grim reminder of the risks migrants face when using irregular routes often controlled by smugglers. The bodies of 54 migrants were discovered along the shores of Khanfar district, while 14 others were taken to a morgue in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, according to reports from the Associated Press (AP). The Abyan security directorate confirmed an extensive search and recovery operation is ongoing along a wide stretch of coastline. 'This heartbreaking incident underscores the urgent need for enhanced protection mechanisms for migrants undertaking perilous journeys, often facilitated by unscrupulous smugglers who exploit desperation and vulnerability,' said an IOM spokesperson. Esoev also reiterated the organization's call for stronger legal migration frameworks. 'What we are advocating for all member states… is to enhance their regular pathways so people can take legal ways in order to migrate, instead of being trapped or deceived by smugglers and taking those dangerous journeys,' he said. Despite ongoing instability and conflict, Yemen remains a major transit point for migrants heading toward Saudi Arabia. The journey across the Gulf of Aden is considered one of the busiest and most hazardous migration routes in the world. In March, two other boats carrying over 180 migrants sank off Yemen's Dhubab district, with almost all passengers presumed dead. The IOM has also warned that smugglers are increasingly launching boats in unsafe conditions to evade patrols, further endangering lives. More than 60,000 migrants have arrived in Yemen so far in 2024, many unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Over the last decade, the IOM's Missing Migrants Project has recorded more than 3,400 deaths and disappearances along this route, with 1,400 of them attributed to drowning.
Al Bawaba
4 days ago
- Al Bawaba
Migrant boat sinks killing at least 68 people off Yemen
Published August 4th, 2025 - 06:13 GMT ALBAWABA - A migrant boat carrying mostly Ethiopians sank off Yemen, leaving at least 68 people dead, the UN's migration agency revealed on Monday. According to the report, search operations are still ongoing for the dozens of people who are missing at the sea. AFP cited International Organization for Migration's country chief of mission, Abdusattor Esoev, "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." The province's security directorate said the migrant boat that sank off the coast of Yemen's Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants. It further mentioned that security forces were trying so hard to recover a "significant" number of bodies. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
