Twenty Ethiopian migrants drowned when their boat from Djibouti capsized off the southern Yemeni coast, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in a statement seen by APA on Wednesday.
Saturday’s shipwreck claimed the lives of nine women and 11 men, the statement said.
The boat was carrying 35 Ethiopian migrants along with its Yemeni captain and his assistant, departed from Djibouti,” IOM said.
It added the vessel had capsized off Yemen’s southwest Taiz Governorate amid strong seasonal winds.
Yemen’s coastal waters are among the world’s most dangerous migrant routes, according to the IOM, which documented more than 60,000 migrant arrivals in Yemen in 2024.
Since 2014, 3435 deaths and disappearances have been recorded along the eastern route, including 1,416 lives lost to drowning.
MG/as/APA