Migrant Boat Capsizes Off Yemen Killing At Least 60

A boat capsized off Yemen’s coast on Sunday killing at least 68 African migrants while 74 others remain missing, the United Nations migration agency said. The vessel carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants sank in the Gulf of Aden off the southern Yemeni province of Abyan, the head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Yemen said, reported AP. 

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

Esoev claimed that only 12 migrants survived the shipwreck. The others went missing and are presumed dead. The Abyan security directorate launched a large-scale rescue operation given the number of casualties. Authorities have claimed to discover several bodies along the coastline.

A series of shipwrecks have killed hundreds of people attempting to flee poverty and conflict, with Yemen being a major route for migrants to reach Gulf Arab countries. Despite Yemen going through a civil war, smugglers transport migrants on overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden, often leading to casualties. 

In March, four boats carrying migrants capsized off the coasts of Yemen and Djibouti, resulting in two confirmed deaths and 186 people reported missing, according to the IOM.  

The IOM earlier described the journey from the Horn of Africa to Yemen as "one of the busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes".

The IOM report highlighted that over 60,000 migrants arrived in Yemen in 2024, down from 97,200 in 2023. The shift can be attributed to higher patrolling and monitoring of the area.