ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: More than 180 people are missing after four boats carrying migrants capsized between Djibouti and Yemen, said the International Organisation for Migration on Friday.
The UN body did not provide any information on the identity of those on the boats, but the passage is often used by Ethiopians to find work in Gulf countries or escape conflicts.
“Over 180 migrants are missing after four boats sank last night off the coasts of Djibouti and Yemen,” said Tamim Eleian, a spokesperson for the IOM.
He told The Associated Press that two crewmembers were rescued, but 181 migrants and five Yemeni crewmembers remain missing. Two other boats capsized off the tiny African nation of Djibouti around the same time, he said. Two bodies of migrants were recovered, and all others on board were rescued.
Strong winds caused the two boats to capsize near the beach in Djibouti after they started sailing off, Abdusattor Esoev, head of the IOM mission in Yemen said.
The third boat, which capsized off the coast of Dhubab district in Taiz governorate, southwestern Yemen, was carrying 31 Ethiopian migrants and three Yemeni crew members.
The fourth boat, which also capsized near the same area, was en route to Ahwar district in Abyan governorate and had 150 Ethiopian migrants on board, along with four Yemeni crew members.
IOM is verifying deeply concerning reports of 186 persons missing after 4 migrant boats capsized off the coasts of #Yemen and #Djibouti last night.
The route between the Eastern Horn of Africa and Yemen has claimed 558 lives in 2024.
Urgent action is needed to save lives! pic.twitter.com/3DTIHGUgnN
— IOM MENA (@IOM_MENA) March 7, 2025
It is worth mentioning that 20 Ethiopians were killed when their boat capsized off Yemen in January.
According to the IOM, 558 people died in 2024 along the route used by many migrants leading from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, crossing the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In 2023, the number of migrants arriving in Yemen reached 97,200—three times the figure in 2021. However, the number dropped to just under 61,000 last year, likely due to increased patrols in the waters, according to a recent IOM report.
Over the past decade, at least 2,082 migrants have gone missing along the route, with 693 confirmed to have drowned, the IOM reports. Currently, around 380,000 migrants are in Yemen.
