More than 60 migrants died when a boat carrying around 150 people sank off the coast of Yemen in bad weather on Sunday.
The vessel capsized off Yemen’s southern province of Abyan, and 68 bodies have been recovered, the Yemen chief for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told the BBC. He said 12 people had been rescued and dozens were still missing.
Most of the victims are believed to be Ethiopian nationals, said the IOM, which called the incident “heartbreaking”.
Yemen remains a major pathway for migrants from the Horn of Africa travelling to the Gulf Arab states in search of work, with the IOM estimating hundreds have died or gone missing in shipwrecks in recent months.
IOM Yemen chief Abdusattor Esoev said the boat was carrying around 157 migrants on a dangerous route in the vast coastal area often used by people smugglers.
Yemen is a popular transit country for many desperate migrants heading north to Saudi Arabia in search of better opportunities.
The bodies of 54 migrants were discovered onshore in the southern district of Khanfar, and 14 others were taken to a hospital morgue in the Abyan provincial capital Zinjibar, the Associated Press reported.
The Abyan security directorate released a statement on the large search and rescue mission under way and said many dead bodies had been found across a wide area of shoreline, according to AP.
A spokesperson for the IOM said the agency was “deeply saddened” by the “tragic loss of life”.
“This heartbreaking incident underscores the urgent need for enhanced protection mechanisms for migrants undertaking perilous journeys, often facilitated by unscrupulous smugglers who exploit desperation and vulnerability,” they said.
Mr Esoev also emphasised the importance of strengthening legal safeguards for migrants, to prevent them from being exploited by smugglers.
“What we are advocating for all member states… is to enhance their regular pathways so people can take legal ways in order to migrate, instead of being trapped or deceived by smugglers and taking those dangerous journeys,” he said.
The IOM previously described the journey from the Horn of Africa to Yemen as “one of the busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes”.
In March, two boats carrying more than 180 migrants sank off the coast of Yemen’s Dhubab district due to rough seas, with only two crew members rescued and all remaining passengers missing and feared dead.
Migrants arriving at Migrant Response Points in Yemen have also reported people-smugglers becoming more reckless by knowingly sending boats into dangerous conditions to avoid patrols, according to an IOM report.
Despite the risks, many migrants continue to make the trip, with more than 60,000 arriving in Yemen in 2024 alone.
In the last decade, the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project recorded more than 3,400 deaths and missing people along the route – 1,400 of those deaths were due to drowning.