Scores of migrants die after boat capsizes off Yemen coast, says UN

At least 68 people were killed and more than 70 were missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Yemen on Sunday, the UN reported.

It’s the latest in a series of shipwrecks off Yemen that have killed hundreds of African migrants fleeing poverty and conflict zones in hopes of reaching the wealthy Gulf Arab countries.

The vessel – which was carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants – sank in the Gulf of Aden, off the southern Yemeni province of Abyan. Only 12 migrants on board the ship survived the accident, according to the head of the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Yemen, Abdusattor Esoev.

Esoev added that the bodies of 54 migrants washed ashore in the district of Khanfar. 14 others were found dead and taken to a hospital morgue in Zinjibar, the provincial capital on Yemen’s southern coast.

The Abyan security directorate says a massive search and rescue operation is under way given the large number of dead and missing migrants. It noted that a large number of dead bodies have already been retrieved after being found scattered across a wide area of the shore.

Yemen is still a major route for migrants from East and the Horn of Africa trying to reach Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for work, despite a crippling civil war spanning more than a decade.

Migrants are often taken on dangerous and overcrowded vessels by smugglers and travel across the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden. In recent months, the UN has verified that hundreds of African migrants have lost their lives making these dangerous trips.

In March, two people were confirmed dead and 186 others missing after four boats carrying hundreds of migrants capsized off the coasts of Yemen and Djibouti, according to the IOM.

In 2024, more than 60,000 African migrants arrived in Yemen, an approximately 38% decrease from 2023 figures which surpassed 97,000. The IOM says the decline is attributed to greater patrolling of the waters by Yemeni and regional authorities.