Photo by Pok Rie
At least 68 migrants have lost their lives after a boat carrying approximately 157 people capsized in rough seas off the coast of Yemen, local officials and aid agencies confirmed.
The vessel overturned near the southern Yemeni province of Abyan on Sunday, according to Abdusattor Esoev, Yemen’s chief for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), who spoke to the BBC. So far, only 12 people have been rescued, with dozens more still missing, Esoev reported.
The IOM stated that most of those on board were believed to be Ethiopian nationals.
Yemen continues to serve as a key migration corridor for people from the Horn of Africa seeking employment opportunities in the Gulf states. The IOM has estimated that hundreds of migrants have died or disappeared in shipwrecks in the region in recent months. Security officials in Abyan said a large-scale search and rescue operation had been initiated, with numerous bodies already discovered along the extensive shoreline.
Esoev explained that the boat was navigating a high-risk smuggling route through a vast coastal area frequently used by human traffickers. He stressed the urgent need to improve legal protections for migrants to reduce their vulnerability to exploitation by smugglers. “What we are advocating for all member states… is to enhance their regular pathways so people can take legal ways in order to migrate, instead of being trapped or deceived by smugglers and taking those dangerous journeys,” he said.
The IOM has previously referred to the migration path from the Horn of Africa — which includes Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti — to Yemen as “one of the busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes” in the world. For many migrants, the ultimate goal is reaching Saudi Arabia.
In March of this year, two boats carrying over 180 migrants capsized off the coast of Dhubab district, Yemen, amid turbulent weather conditions. Only two crew members survived that incident.
According to an IOM report, migrants arriving at reception points in Yemen have reported that people-smugglers are becoming increasingly reckless—intentionally sending boats into hazardous waters to evade maritime patrols.
Despite the clear dangers, thousands continue to attempt the journey. More than 60,000 migrants have reached Yemen in 2024 alone.
Over the past 10 years, the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has recorded more than 3,400 deaths or disappearances along the Horn of Africa–Yemen route. Of those, approximately 1,400 were attributed to drowning.
Yemen itself remains trapped in a prolonged and catastrophic civil war that has lasted for more than a decade. Since 2014, the Iran-backed Houthi movement has controlled most of north-western Yemen after ousting the internationally recognised government from the capital, Sanaa.
