more than 50 dead as vessel capsizes

More than 50 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, with only 10 people rescued and dozens still missing, according to local authorities.

Many of the victims are believed to be Ethiopian nationals, said the International Organization for Migration (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 told the Associated Press 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 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 the Associated Press.

A spokesperson for the IOM said the agency was “deeply saddened” by the “tragic loss of life” and emphasised the need for more safeguards for migrants.

“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.

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.