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At least 68 migrants killed and many more remain unaccounted for after a boat sank off the coast of Yemen on Sunday due to rough weather conditions, according the United Nations.
The vessel had reportedly around 150 people on board at the time of the incident.
A police official informed AFP that the boat had been en route to the shores of Abyan province, a region frequently reached by smuggling boats.
In a statement, the security directorate of Abyan confirmed that local forces had launched a major recovery operation to retrieve the bodies of Ethiopian migrants, mostly from the Oromo community who drowned while attempting to enter Yemen illegally by sea.
“Many bodies have been found across various beaches, suggesting that a number of victims are still missing at sea,” it added.
Despite the war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, irregular migration via the impoverished country has continued, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict.
Migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which separates Djibouti from Yemen and is a major route for international trade headed to and from the Suez Canal, as well as for migration and human trafficking.
The wealthy Gulf monarchies, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, host significant populations of foreign workers from South Asia and Africa.
According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys.
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