At least 68 migrants, primarily Ethiopian nationals, have tragically drowned after an overloaded boat carrying approximately 157 people capsized off the coast of Yemen’s Abyan province due to bad weather conditions. The incident, which occurred on Sunday, has once again drawn global attention to the perilous migration routes across the Gulf of Aden that are frequently used by vulnerable migrants fleeing poverty and seeking work opportunities in the Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia.
According to Abdusattor Esoev, Yemen Chief of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), only 12 people have been rescued so far, while dozens remain unaccounted for. A wide-scale search and recovery operation has been launched, with bodies discovered along vast stretches of Yemen’s southern shoreline. This latest maritime disaster is part of a troubling trend of increasing migrant deaths in the region, where overcrowded boats, unsafe weather, and unscrupulous people smugglers are contributing to the rising death toll.
Yemen has become a major gateway for migrants from countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, and Eritrea, many of whom brave dangerous waters and violent conflict zones with hopes of reaching the Gulf for economic opportunities. Despite being mired in a civil war for over a decade, Yemen continues to serve as a key transit point. The IOM estimates that over 60,000 migrants have arrived in Yemen in 2024 alone, despite the ongoing violence, instability, and heightened risk of exploitation.
The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has recorded over 3,400 deaths on this route in the past decade, with more than 1,400 attributed to drowning. Many survivors who reach IOM migrant response centers report that people smugglers often send them to sea in unsafe conditions to evade maritime patrols. In March 2024, a similar tragedy occurred when two boats sank off Yemen’s Dhubab district, resulting in numerous fatalities and highlighting a pattern of negligence by traffickers.
This recent incident reinforces the urgent need for governments and international bodies to strengthen legal migration channels, bolster rescue and protection frameworks, and crack down on people-smuggling networks. As Mr. Esoev emphasized, “We are advocating for all member states to enhance regular migration pathways, so people are not trapped or deceived by smugglers into taking such dangerous journeys.”
As Yemen remains a flashpoint of regional instability with the Iran-backed Houthis rebels controlling parts of the country since 2014, the country’s humanitarian crisis continues to deepen, leaving migrants and refugees at even greater risk. Without swift action and greater international collaboration, tragedies like this will continue to claim innocent lives in one of the world’s most dangerous migration corridors.
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