Tragic Voyage: Ethiopian Migrants Perish in Yemeni Sea Disaster
What Went Wrong?
Picture this: 154 hopeful souls aboard a bone‑crusted boat, eyes set on a brighter future. Then the sea, like a temperamental diva, flips the script and the vessel goes belly up off Yemen’s coast.
The Toll
- Passengers: 154 Ethiopians
- Fatalities: 68
- Missing: 70 +
Rescue teams are treading water—both literally and figuratively—sweeping the waves for survivors. The sheer number of lost and missing underscores how dangerous the journey was.
Community Reactions
While the families clutch a sliver of hope, the mood here is thick with grief. The tragedy has sparked urgent calls for safer travel routes and stricter oversight.
Yemen Sees Another Tragic Migration Incident
On Sunday, a boat carrying 154 Ethiopian refugees overturned in the Gulf of Aden, right off the coast of Yemen’s southern province of Abyan. The result? At least 68 people lost their lives, and more than 70 remain missing.
The Numbers that Hurt
- Only 12 survivors made it back to safety.
- Fifty‑four bodies washed up around Khanfar.
- Fourteen more were found dead and taken to a morgue in Zinjibar.
Abdusattor Esoev, head of the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Yemen, gave the grim tally. The Abyan security directorate is now conducting a massive search‑and‑rescue push, combing a wide stretch of coastline already littered with deceased migrants.
A Dangerous Path to the Gulf
Yemen remains one of the main maritime backdoors for people from East and the Horn of Africa trying to reach Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations. The dream? A job, a better life—and the reality? Endless boats, smugglers, and perilous seas.
Smugglers often cram dozens of people into one vessel, slicing the boat’s capacity to the bone. Sailors hop from Red Sea to Gulf of Aden, chasing hopes of a new start.
For years, this route has cost hundreds of lives. In March alone, four boats sank off both Yemen’s and Djibouti’s shores, leaving 186 missing and two confirmed dead. In 2024, Yemen recorded roughly 60,000 African arrivals—a 38% drop from the 97,000 that flooded in during 2023.
Why the dip? Yemeni and regional authorities have stepped up patrolling, tightening the net around those daring enough to risk the journey.