Four boats carrying migrants from Africa sank, leaving two people dead and 186 missing, according to the UN’s migration agency. Two of the boats sank off the coast of Yemen last night. Two crew members were rescued, but 181 migrants and five Yemeni crew members are still missing, said Tamim Eleian, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
One boat, carrying 31 Ethiopian migrants and three Yemeni crew, sank near Dhubab, a small coastal town in southwestern Yemen. Another boat, carrying 150 Ethiopian migrants and four Yemeni crew, sank in the same area while heading to Ahwar district.
Strong winds also caused two other boats to sink near Djibouti, a small African country. Two migrants were found dead, but everyone else on board was rescued.
Yemen is a key route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa who are trying to reach Gulf countries for work. This journey is one of the busiest and most dangerous in the world. Migrants often travel in overcrowded, unsafe boats operated by smugglers across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden. Women and girls face especially high risks, including violence.
According to the IOM, 558 people died on this route in 2024, and over 2,000 migrants have gone missing in the past decade, with 693 confirmed drowned.
In 2023, 97,200 migrants arrived in Yemen—three times more than in 2021. However, even after reaching Yemen, many face harsh conditions, with little access to food, healthcare, or safe shelter. Many end up living in temporary shelters or on the streets. In 2024, the number of arrivals dropped sharply to around 61,000.
