Dozens of Ethiopians die in shipwreck off Yemen coast

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

December 9, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – At least 70 Ethiopian migrants died after their boat sunk off Yemen’s western coast, Yemeni authorities said.

According to the Yemeni interior ministry, the vessel capsized on Saturday while heading to the Red Sea port city of Al-Makha.

Strong winds and rough waves are blamed for the mishap.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday that 21 bodies were recovered after the incident was reported by Yemeni coastal guards on Sunday.

Security forces are trying to hunt down, Ahmed Salem al-Hilal, a person who is believed to be the owner of boat and a well known human trafficker.

Every year, tens of thousands of migrant from the volatile East African region risk their lives trying to cross the Red Sea into Yemen, a country viewed by many migrants as a gateway to cross to the wealthier Saudi Arabia.

However hundreds of Africans drown every year while taking the dangerous journey in crowded boats.

In May, 60 migrants from Ethiopia and Somalia along with two Yemeni crew members died when their vessel sank off the coast of Yemen

Similarly, some 64 African migrants and three crews died at the Gulf of Aden last month after a crowded boat sank after leaving Somalia.

According to UNHCR, the latest incident is the deadliest since June, when 62 people died.

Since January, over 270 African migrants with dreams of finding lucrative jobs and better lives in wealthier nations such as Saudi Arabia have died off Yemen’s coast.

UNHCR figures say that over 62,000 migrants and asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa arrived in Yemen in 2013.

Last month, the UNHCR said the number of migrants from the Horn of Africa region losing their lives while trying to reach Yemen in 2014 was the highest in years, exceeding the combined total for 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Yemen currently hosts 246,000 illegal refugees, of whom more than 230,000 are from Somalia, with a smaller number from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq and Syria.

(ST)