At least 49 people were killed after a migrant boat sank off the coast of Yemen

Cairo (AFP) – A boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Cairo Yemen, The UN agency reported Tuesday that the floods killed at least 49 people and left 140 others missing.

The boat was carrying about 260 Somalis and Ethiopians from the northern coast Somalia The International Organization for Migration said in a statement that the boat was on a 320-kilometre journey through the Gulf of Aden when it sank on Monday off the southern coast of Yemen.

The group said that 71 people were rescued and the search is still continuing, noting that among the dead were 31 women and six children.

Yemen A The main route for immigrants From East Africa and the Horn of Africa they are trying to reach the Gulf countries for work. Even though it’s been almost a decade civil war in yemen, The International Organization for Migration said last month that the number of arriving migrants had tripled in recent years, from about 27,000 in 2021 to more than 90,000 last year. According to the agency, there are currently about 380,000 migrants in Yemen.

In order to reach Yemen, smugglers take migrants on overcrowded and often dangerous boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden. In April, at least 62 people were killed in two shipwrecks off the coast of Djibouti while trying to reach Yemen. The International Organization for Migration said at least 1,860 people died or disappeared along the way, including 480 who drowned.

The shipwreck on Monday “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,” said Mohamed Ali Abonjila, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration.

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