Over 140 Migrants Feared Dead as Migrant Boat Sinks Off Yemen
Over 140 migrants are feared dead after their boat carrying 154 Ethiopians sank off Yemen's coast. The UN agency confirmed 68 deaths and 74 missing, with only 12 survivors from the wreck in the Gulf of Aden.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A catastrophic shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden has left at least 68 migrants dead and 74 others missing and presumed dead, the UN’s migration agency has confirmed, in the latest tragedy to strike one of the world's most perilous migration corridors. The vessel, reportedly carrying over 150 Ethiopian migrants, capsized off the coast of Yemen early on Sunday, leaving only a handful of survivors.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced the devastating scale of the incident on Monday. In a statement to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Abdusattor Esoev, the head of the IOM's mission in Yemen, confirmed the heavy death toll.
The Associated Press later reported more specific details from the IOM's Yemen chief, who stated the vessel with 154 Ethiopian migrants on board sank off the southern Yemeni province of Abyan.
Esoev detailed a grim scene, explaining that the bodies of 54 migrants had washed ashore in the district of Khanfar, while another 14 were found dead and taken to a hospital morgue in Zinjibar, the provincial capital. Only 12 migrants survived the shipwreck, with the rest missing and presumed to have perished.
In a statement, the Abyan security directorate described a massive search-and-rescue operation given the high number of victims. It said many dead bodies were found scattered across a wide area of the shore.
Despite more than a decade of devastating civil war, Yemen remains a major transit country for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa who are fleeing conflict and poverty. They undertake the journey in hopes of reaching oil-rich Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, for work. Smugglers facilitate these journeys on often dangerous and overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden via the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
This shipwreck is one of several deadly incidents in recent months. According to the IOM, in March another four boats capsized off the coasts of Yemen and Djibouti, leaving two migrants dead and 186 others missing. The organization has also repeatedly warned that even those who survive the sea journey face immense hardship, with "thousands of people" finding themselves stranded in Yemen "where they are subjected to abuse and exploitation during their journey."
The flow of migrants to Yemen remains significant, with the IOM reporting that more than 60,000 have arrived in the country in 2024. This number, however, is down from 97,200 in 2023, a decrease the IOM attributes to a probable increase in the patrolling of the waters.
