The United Nations Migration Agency reported on Friday that at least two people were killed and 186 people were missing after four migrant boats capsized overnight off the coast of Yemen and Djibouti.
Two boats capsized off the coast of Yemen late Thursday, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). While two crew members were rescued, 181 migrants and five Yemeni crew members are still missing.
At the same time, two more boats capsized near Djibouti. According to IOM’s Yemen mission chief Abdusattor Esoev, they capsized shortly after setting sail due to strong winds. Two migrants were found dead, while all other passengers were rescued.
One of the boats off the coast of Yemen capsized near Dhubab district in Taiz governorate, carrying 31 Ethiopian migrants and three Yemeni crew members. The second ship, which was heading to Ahwar district in Abyan governorate, carried 150 Ethiopian migrants and four Yemeni crew members.
Yemen remains a major transit point for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa seeking work in the Gulf countries. Many make dangerous journeys across the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden in overcrowded and unsafe smugglers’ boats.
In 2023, around 97,200 migrants reached Yemen, a sharp increase from 2021 figures. But that number fell to fewer than 61,000 last year, likely due to increased maritime patrols, the IOM report said.
Over the past decade, at least 2,082 migrants have gone missing on this dangerous route, including 693 known to have drowned. An estimated 380,000 migrants are currently in Yemen and face uncertain conditions.