68 Dead After Migrant Boat Capsizes Near Yemen

68 migrants were killed after a boat capsized off the coast of Yemen, and dozens of people are still missing as search-and-rescue operations begin.

The boat was traveling across the Gulf of Aden towards the Yemeni Governorate of Abyan, located on the country's southern coast. Carrying approximately 157 people searching for jobs in the Middle East, most of which were Ethiopian nationals, the ship capsized after a storm struck the region, sending all passengers and crew into the water.

68 bodies have been found so far, and a rescue operation to recover the remaining victims of the accident has been launched. Yemeni authorities are currently searching for bodies and survivors in the area where the boat sank, and at least 12 people have been rescued from the water.

Unfortunately, incidents like this are extremely common in the Gulf of Aden, which is the busiest maritime migration route in the world. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), an average of 11,500 people boarded vessels to Yemen from the Horn of Africa each month in 2019, summing up to a total of 138,000 in one year.

Most of the migrants making the journey are Ethiopian nationals searching for better opportunities in Middle Eastern countries, and over 90% of them end up finding jobs in Saudi Arabia after departing from Djibouti and Somalia. Unfortunately, many of these migrants do not make it to the end-- the passage is extremely treacherous.

Smugglers often board boats and kidnap dozens of people before taking them away to inhumane living conditions where they are tortured and forced to work for no pay. If they do manage to make it to the coast of Yemen, they have to fight the Gulf's strict laws before getting permission to cross into another country, and they have to cross large swaths of the Arabian Desert without food or water to make it to their final destinations. Despite all of these challenges, migrant numbers have not dropped over the years, and there are no signs that it will decrease in the near future.

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