Boat carrying over 150 migrants sinks off Yemen; 68 killed, 74 missing

A boat carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen’s coast, killing 68 and leaving 74 others missing, according to the UN’s migration agency. The shipwreck is among the latest that has killed hundreds of people, who were fleeing conflict and poverty to Gulf Arab countries. Only 12 people have survived after the vessel capsized in the Gulf of Aden off the southern Yemeni province of Abyan early on Sunday (Aug 3).

According to the head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Yemen, Abdusattor Esoev, bodies of 54 people washed ashore in the Khanfar district, while 14 others were found dead and taken to a hospital morgue in Zinjibar, the capital of the province. The missing ones are presumed dead.

Despite the conflict in the country, Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa to travel to Gulf nations for work. They are often smuggled in dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden.

In recent months, hundreds have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen. Last month, at least eight people died and 22 were missing after smugglers forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, said the UN’s migration agency. The boat was carrying about 150 people when it was stopped by the smugglers, who left the passengers to swim in the open water.

In March, two migrants were killed and 186 others were missing after four boats sank off Yemen and Djibouti. It is believed that one of the vessels was carrying at least 30 people, and another about 150 people, which went missing off the coast of Yemen. The other two boats were capsized due to strong winds off the coast of Djibouti. The majority of those on board were believed to be Ethiopian migrants.

According to an IOM report in March, over 60,000 migrants arrived in Yemen in 2024, significantly less than the 97,200 in 2023, likely because of more patrolling of the waters.