Scores of Ethiopian migrants drown after boat capsizes off Yemen

At least 55 irregular African migrants have drowned when a boat capsized off the coast of Yemen, officials said Sunday.

The boat with dozens of migrants, mostly from Ethiopia, sank off the coast of Abyan province in southern Yemen at dawn due to bad weather conditions, a security source told Anadolu news agency.

Abdel Qader Bajameel, director of the Health Office in Zinjibar, the provincial capital, told Anadolu that the bodies of 54 Ethiopians and one Yemeni have been recovered.

Authorities are still searching for dozens of missing passengers. Bajameel said all the victims have been buried.

Earlier Sunday, Abyan police said in a statement that rescue teams were conducting a large-scale humanitarian operation to recover the bodies, adding that the migrants attempted to reach Yemen via a smuggling boat from the Horn of Africa.

Mass casualties

According to the Yemen Window news agency, the bodies of 25 Ethiopian migrants were retrieved from the shores of Shaqra and Zinjibar cities.

Yemen is a destination for hundreds of migrants from the Horn of Africa, particularly Somalia and Ethiopia, who undertake this perilous journey in hopes of reaching Gulf countries to seek better living conditions.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 60,000 irregular migrants have arrived in Yemen in 2024 alone.

In January, a boat carrying 35 Ethiopian migrants capsized off Yemen's Dubab District in the Ta’iz Governorate, claiming the lives of 20 Ethiopian migrants, including nine women, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

“This tragedy is a grim reminder of the treacherous conditions migrants endure in their search for safety and a better life,” said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM’s chief of mission in Yemen, said at the time.