Over 140 African Migrants Feared Dead as Boat Capsizes Off Yemen Coast

At least 68 African migrants has died on Sunday, August 3, 2025, when their boat sank off Yemen’s southern coast.

Another 74 remain missing, and officials fear they are dead according to reports.

The vessel carried 154 Ethiopian migrants when it capsized in the Gulf of Aden near Abyan province.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed the death toll on Monday, August 4.

Abdusattor Esoev, who heads the IOM office in Yemen, said only 12 people survived the wreck.

Survivors told rescuers that the boat began taking on water shortly after departure. Within minutes, the overloaded vessel flipped in rough waters.

Rescue teams recovered 54 bodies from the shores of Khanfar district. Another 14 migrants died later at a hospital in Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan.

Local authorities rushed to launch a search-and-rescue mission.

However, they admitted that chances of finding more survivors were low.

Officials said they found bodies scattered along a wide stretch of the coast.

This latest tragedy adds to a growing list of migrant deaths in the region. In March, four boats sank near Yemen and Djibouti, killing at least two migrants and leaving 186 others missing.

Human smugglers continue to send migrants on dangerous voyages in overcrowded and unfit boats.

Despite more than a decade of war, Yemen remains a key route for migrants from Ethiopia and Somalia.

Many dream of reaching Saudi Arabia or other Gulf nations in search of jobs. But the journey often turns deadly.

In 2024, at least 60,000 migrants arrived in Yemen. That number dropped from 97,200 in 2023.

Experts believe better coastal patrols may have slowed the flow. Still, thousands continue to risk their lives.

So far, international aid groups have urged regional governments to crack down on human trafficking.

They also want safer migration options for those fleeing poverty and conflict. But without real action, more tragedies like this seem inevitable.

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