At least sixty-eight (68) migrants have lost their lives after a boat with more than 100 people on board sank off the coast of Yemen due to bad weather.
Yemen’s chief for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told the BBC, the boat capsized off the southern province of Abyan on Sunday. Twelve (12) people had been rescued, Abdusattor Esoev said, but dozens were yet to be found.
The IOM disclosed, most of the victims are believed to be Ethiopian nationals.
Yemen is a main route for migrants from the Horn of Africa travelling to Gulf states in search of work. An IOM estimation reveals, hundreds have died or gone missing in shipwrecks in recent months.
Security officials of Abyan said that a large search-and-rescue mission had been launched and many bodies had been found across a wide area of shoreline.
Esoev said: “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.”
