Geneva: More than 49 migrants have died and 140 are missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Yemen, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement that the ship left Somalia with 260 migrants, including Somalis and Ethiopians.
The incident happened on Monday near Alghareef point in Yemen’s Shbwah province.
According to the IOM, since 2014, 1,860 migrants have died and disappeared on their way to the Gulf countries from East Africa and the Horn of Africa. Of these, nearly 500 people died as a result of drowning.
The IOM says that the migration route in question is the most dangerous in the world.
“On the dangerous boat journey to Yemen’s coast, migrants often rely on tourists and are often exposed to risks such as human trafficking,” he said.
The United Nations said last year about 97,000 migrants arrived in Yemen from the Horn of Africa.
