Migrant Boat Carrying Hundreds of Somali and Ethiopian Nationals Capsizes off Yemen Coast

In Summary

• At least 49 dead and 140 missing after the boat capsized off Yemen's coast. The boat carried 115 Somali nationals and 145 Ethiopians.
• IOM mobilized medical teams; 71 survivors were treated, with eight referred to a hospital. Local fishermen and community members played a crucial role in recovery efforts.
• The incident is part of a rise in Horn of Africa migrants to Yemen due to political instability and severe weather events.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that at least 49 people died and another 140 remain missing after a boat carrying 260 migrants from Somalia capsized Monday off the coast of Yemen. In a statement Tuesday, the U.N. agency said the boat departed from Bossaso at around 3:00 a.m. local time Sunday, carrying 115 Somali nationals and 145 Ethiopians. The boat capsized in the Gulf of Aden near Alghareef Point, in Yemen’s Shabwah governorate.

The IOM said it mobilized two medical teams to provide immediate assistance to the survivors, including six children. Eight of the 71 known survivors required further medical attention and were referred to a hospital, while the remaining 63 received first aid and minor treatment. The IOM credited local fishermen and other community members for their crucial role in assisting with the recovery efforts and the burial of some of the deceased.

Search and rescue efforts are underway for the missing, with bodies continuing to wash up on shore. The IOM said the incident is part of a recent rise in migrants from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, driven by political and economic instability, severe droughts, and other extreme weather events in countries like Ethiopia and Somalia. The agency noted that two other recent shipwrecks along the coast of Djibouti claimed the lives of at least 62 migrants.

In the statement, IOM spokesman Mohammedali Abunajela said, “This recent tragedy is another reminder of the urgent need to work together to address urgent migration challenges and ensure the safety and security of migrants along migration routes.”