A boat carrying Ethiopian and other migrants has capsized near the coast of Yemen. In this incident 38 people died and majority of them is Ethiopian. Around 100 are missing. Search and rescue operation is on going. More than 200 people were onboard.
The incident occurred due to strong winds reportedly. Rescue workers are currently conducting search efforts to locate the missing passengers.
Hadi Al-Kurmi, the governor of Rudum in southeastern Yemen confirmed that boat capsized before reaching the shore of Yemen. Thousands of migrants flee their countries every year and try to enter Saudi Arabia illegally. Human traffickers charge high fees for transporting these illegal migrants using dangerous sea routes.
In April alone, two separate events resulted in the drowning of 60 Ethiopians in the Red Sea. A UN report indicates that despite the fragile security situation in Yemen, 97,000 migrants entered the country last year.
Ethiopia is not the only country in the Horn of Africa from where people try to reach the Middle East. Thousands of Eritreans, Somalis and Sudanese too take dangerous sea routes to enter Yemen.
Yemen-Saudi Araba border is a heavily guarded border. In August last year, Human Rights Watch published a report about indiscriminate killing of Ethiopian migrants at the hands of Saudi border guards on Yemen-Saudi Arabia border.
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