In brief
At least two lives have been lost while rescuers grapple with ongoing searches for the missing migrants in treacherous waters.
March 7, 2025, 7:33 a.m. ET – CAIRO — In a devastating turn of events, the United Nations migration agency reported that at least two individuals have died and around 186 are missing due to the capsizing of four boats carrying migrants from Africa near the coast of Yemen and Djibouti. The announcement came on Friday, revealing the plight of these individuals who are seeking better opportunities in Gulf countries.According to Tamim Eleian, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (I.O.M.), two vessels sank off Yemen late Thursday night. Rescuers managed to save two crew members, while the fate of 181 migrants and five Yemeni crew members remains uncertain. The situation was mirrored in Djibouti, where two additional boats capsized at a similar time, resulting in the retrieval of two bodies, while the remaining passengers were successfully saved.Strong winds reportedly played a role in the capsizing of the boats near Djibouti's shoreline, according to Abdusattor Esoev, mission head for the I.O.M. in Yemen. Notably, the third vessel, which went down in Yemen's Dhubab district, carried 31 Ethiopian migrants along with three Yemeni crew members. Meanwhile, the fourth boat, also capsizing close to this area, was transporting 150 Ethiopian migrants and four Yemeni crew.Yemen serves as a crucial transit point for thousands of migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa, all of whom are trying to reach Gulf nations for employment opportunities. Reports suggest that hundreds of thousands embark on this perilous journey each year, with conditions becoming increasingly dangerous. In 2023, approximately 97,200 migrants made their way to Yemen — a startling threefold increase from figures recorded in 2021. While numbers fell to just under 61,000 last year, heightened patrolling efforts in the region may have contributed to this decline, as indicated by an I.O.M. report.Over the past decade, the migration route has seen around 2,082 individuals reported missing, including at least 693 confirmed drownings. Currently, the I.O.M. cites around 380,000 migrants residing in Yemen, underscoring the high stakes of this journey.
