Cairo: At least 68 African migrants have been confirmed dead and 74 others remain missing after an overcrowded smuggling vessel capsized off the coast of southern Yemen on Sunday, confirmed the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The vessel, carrying 154 Ethiopian nationals, went down in the early hours off the coast of Abyan province, in the Gulf of Aden. According to IOM’s Yemen Chief of Mission, Abdusattor Esoev, 54 bodies were recovered along the shores of Khanfar district. At the same time, another 14 were found and transferred to a hospital morgue in Zinjibar, the provincial capital. Only 12 migrants are known to have survived the disaster. The remaining 74 are missing and presumed dead, with search and recovery efforts continuing.
In a statement, the Abyan security directorate described a massive search-and-rescue operation launched in coordination with local authorities, coastal guards, and humanitarian responders. Officials said bodies were discovered scattered along a wide stretch of shoreline, many of them severely battered by the tide.
“The scale of this tragedy is harrowing. Many of the deceased were young men and women, likely fleeing hardship in hopes of a better future,” said an IOM field officer.
Despite over a decade of conflict, Yemen remains a key transit point for migrants from East Africa, particularly Ethiopia and Somalia, seeking to reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations in search of work. Migrants typically cross the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea in rickety boats operated by smugglers, often with no safety equipment or oversight.
The IOM has repeatedly warned of the rising death toll along this perilous route. In March, 186 migrants went missing, and two were confirmed dead after four vessels capsized off the coasts of Yemen and Djibouti. Hundreds more have perished in similar incidents in recent years.
Survivors from Sunday’s shipwreck told aid workers they had paid smugglers in Djibouti to be transported to Yemen, with the promise of onward travel to the Gulf. Many said they were forced aboard at gunpoint and crammed into a small vessel that was clearly unfit for sea travel.
The IOM is coordinating with Yemeni authorities to support survivors and recover the bodies of those lost. Aid agencies are also calling on regional governments to address the root causes driving migration, including poverty, conflict, and lack of legal pathways.
