Scores of African migrants killed as boat sinks off Yemen, officials say

At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen on Sunday, officials told AFP on Monday.

Abdusattor Esoev, International Organisation for Migration country chief, said that only 12 out of 157 have been rescued so far. “The fate of the missing is still unknown,” he said

The vessel, with mostly Ethiopian passengers on board, sank in the Gulf of Aden off the southern Yemeni province of Abyan, Mr Esoev told the Associated Press.

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Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, said Pope Leo XIV was "deeply saddened by the devastating loss of life". He said the pope was praying "divine strength, comfort, and hope" for the survivors, emergency personnel, and all those affected by this tragedy.

Security sources said the boat capsized in heavy weather and strong winds off the coast of Ahwar District. In a statement, the Abyan security directorate described a large-scale search-and-rescue operation. It said many dead bodies were scattered across a wide area.

The shipwreck is the deadliest on the route east of the Horn of Africa since the IOM began collecting data in 2014, according to figures analysed by The National. It means this month is already sure to be the deadliest August on record on the route, where fatalities typically spike during the summer.

The previous deadliest sinking on the route came in October 2014, when 64 migrants and three crew died as their vessel, sailing from Somalia, sank in the Gulf of Aden. In June last year, an estimated 56 people died when a boat carrying 260 people capsized near near Alghareef Point in Yemen.

Some deaths are also reported due to violence, illness or road accidents en route to the Gulf. The IOM's Yemen branch warned on Monday that people often "fall prey to exploitation, violence and human trafficking" while travelling in search of a better life.

The tragedy was the latest in a series of wrecks off Yemen that have killed hundreds of Africans fleeing conflict and poverty in the hope of reaching Gulf countries.

Over the past five years, incidents of migrant boats sinking have increased, especially off Yemen’s eastern and western coasts, as people search for work opportunities there or attempt to reach the wealthy Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia.

Despite more than a decade of civil war, Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa. Migrants are taken by smugglers on often dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden.

The IOM said Yemen continues to draw an increasing number of migrants from Africa.

It reported that more than 37,000 migrants arrived in Yemen during the first quarter of this year, compared to more than 60,000 in all of last year – down from 97,200 in 2023 – probably because of greater patrolling of the waters, according to an IOM report in March.

Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in boatwrecks off Yemen in recent months, including in March when two migrants died and 186 others were missing after four boats capsized off Yemen and Djibouti, according to the IOM.

-With agencies