181 missing as two boats sink off Yemen coast

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 181 people, including women, have been missing after two boats capsized in waters off Yemen, says the International Organisation of Migration (IOM).

The boats carrying more than 180 migrants capsized off the coast of Yemen’s Dhubab district in Ta’iz Governorate on Thursday, IOM said in a statement on Friday.

Two crewmembers were rescued, but 181 migrants and five Yemeni crew remained missing, the organisation added..

The IOM chief of mission in Yemen said the majority of those on board were believed to be Ethiopian migrants and five were thought to be Yemeni crew members.

He said among those on board were at least 124 men and 57 women.

“We are working with authorities to see if we can find any survivors, but I’m afraid we may not have any,” Abdusattor Esoev told the AFP news agency.

The boats capsized after smugglers failed to heed weather warnings issued by Yemen’s Civil Aviation and Meteorology Authority, which had advised against travel due to strong winds and high waves.

Despite a nearly decade-long civil war, Yemen remains a major route for migrants and refugees from East Africa and the Horn of Africa trying to reach Gulf countries for work.

kk/mud