Tragedy as four migrant boats capsize with 186 missing and two dead off Yemen

By Lauran O'Toole, News Reporter

186 migrants are missing after a boat capsized off Yemen (File photo) (Image: Getty)

Four boats carrying migrants from Africa have capsized, leaving two people dead and 186 missing, the UN’s migration agency said. Two of the boats capsized off Yemen yesterday evening. Two crewmembers were rescued, however 181 migrants and five Yemeni crewmembers remain missing, Tamim Eleian, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration, or IOM told The Associated Press.

One of the boats, carrying 31 Ethiopian migrants and three Yemeni crew, capsized off Dhubab district a small coastal town in the Taiz Governorate of south-western Yemen. The other boat, which capsized near the same area, was heading to the Ahwar district of the Abyan Governorate and was carrying 150 Ethiopian migrants and four Yemeni crew.

Locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (Image: AP)

Strong winds caused two other boats to capsize near the beach of the tiny African nation of Djibouti which is bordered by Somalia to the south and Ethiopia to the southwest. Two bodies of migrants were recovered, and all others on board were rescued.

Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa trying to reach Gulf countries for work. The perilous journey is one of the busiest and arguably most dangerous in the world, leaving many migrants vulnerable. 

To reach Yemen, migrants are often taken by smugglers on dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable, with high reported levels of gender-based violence.

The route to Yemen is arguably one of the most dangerous in the world. (File photo). (Image: Getty)

According to the IOM, 558 people died in 2024 along the route, whilst at least 2,082 migrants have disappeared along the route in the past decade, and 693 are known to have drowned.

97,200 migrants reached Yemen in 2023 - triple the number in 2021. Even after arriving in Yemen, many migrants endure severe deprivation, with limited access to food, healthcare, and safe shelter. Many are forced to live in makeshift structures or sleep on the streets.

However, in 2024 the number dropped dramatically to around 61,000.