49 migrants dead and 140 missing in shipwreck off Yemen coast

Geneva / Shabwah, June 11 – At least 49 migrants are dead and 140 others are still missing after a boat sank off the coast of Yemen. The ship carrying 260 migrants capsized yesterday (June 10) near Alghareef Point, Shabwah Governorate. Among those who lost their lives in this devastating tragedy were 31 women and six children.

“This recent tragedy once again serves as a reminder of the urgent need to work together to address pressing migration challenges and ensure the safety and security of migrants along migration routes,” said Mohammedali Abunajela, spokesperson for the 'IOM. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families as we remain committed to supporting survivors and improving search and rescue efforts in the region. »

According to survivors, the boat left Bossaso in Somalia around 3 a.m. on Sunday, carrying 115 Somali nationals and 145 Ethiopians, including 90 women. This reflects the recent increase in the number of migrants from the Horn of Africa traveling to Yemen, spurred by political and economic instability, as well as severe droughts and other extreme weather events in countries like Ethiopia and Somalia.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) mobilized two mobile medical teams to provide immediate assistance to survivors, including six children. Of the 71 survivors, eight migrants required further medical attention and were referred to a hospital while the remaining 63 survivors received first aid and minor care, including trauma care and dressings, provided by the mobile clinic on the spot. IOM psychologists working with the mobile medical team provide mental health support to 38 survivors.

Search and rescue operations continue despite significant challenges due to the lack of operational patrol boats, a situation further complicated by the recent conflict. Members of the local community, including fishermen, later played a crucial role in participating in recovery efforts and helping to bury the deceased at the Ayn-Bamaabed cemetery.

Despite these efforts, 140 people remain missing and efforts are currently underway to explore other search and rescue options as more bodies continue to wash up on shores in various locations.

This tragedy follows two separate shipwrecks on the same route along the coast of Djibouti, costing the lives of at least 62 migrants. Since 2014, IOM's Missing Migrants project has recorded 1,860 migrant deaths and disappearances along the Eastern Route from the East and Horn of Africa to the Gulf countries, including 480 due to drowning.

The Eastern Horn of Africa to Yemen is one of the busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes in the world, frequented by hundreds of thousands of migrants, the majority of whom undertake irregular journeys. Often relying on smugglers to make their journey, migrants often face increased risk, including human trafficking, during the perilous boat journey to the coast of Yemen.

Despite the ongoing conflict in Yemen, thousands of migrants continue to transit through Yemen in hopes of reaching the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. In 2023, IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) observed more than 97,200 migrant arrivals in Yemen, surpassing figures from last year, when just over 73,000 migrants arrived in Yemen.

Notes to editors:

IOM's Missing Migrants Project is the only open access database on global migrant deaths and disappearances and the only indicator (10.7.3) to measure safe migration within the framework of development goals sustainable development (SDG).

Along with 48 other humanitarian and development organizations and governments, IOM coordinates theRegional Migrant Response Plan for the Horn of Africa, Yemen and Southern Africa (MRP) to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of migrants along the Eastern Route. AlthoughMRP partners appeal for $112 millionthe appeal remains seriously underfunded.

For more information please contact:

In Yemen: Monica Chiriac, [email protected]
In Geneva: [email protected]
In Cairo: Tamim Elyan, [email protected]