Over 180 migrants are currently unaccounted for and are presumed dead following the capsizing of two boats in turbulent waters off the coast of Yemen on Thursday, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The vessels were transporting migrants from a country in the Horn of Africa when they overturned near the Dhubab district in the Ta’iz governorate, as reported by IOM.
“Despite warnings about adverse weather conditions, the boats sank in the rough seas. Only two Yemeni crew members were rescued, while all passengers and the remaining crew are believed to have perished, with no bodies recovered thus far,” stated IOM spokesperson Tamim Elyan on Friday.
Earlier that day, IOM had indicated in a post on X that at least 186 individuals were missing after four boats carrying migrants capsized off the coasts of Yemen and Djibouti overnight, referring to the same tragic event.
IOM, which maintains a record of migrants who have died or gone missing along migration routes, noted in the post that 558 individuals lost their lives on the route between the Eastern Horn of Africa and Yemen last year.
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Each year, hundreds of thousands of individuals depart from the Horn of Africa, a region beset by ongoing instability, in search of better economic opportunities in Gulf countries via the Eastern Route, which IOM describes as one of the most heavily trafficked and perilous migration pathways in the world.
