Nearly 200 African migrants missing after boat sinks off Yemen

Fishermen said there were few survivors as the vessel heading from Djibouti sank 30km off the coast

Ethiopian migrants arrive on a boat on the shores of Ras Al Ara, Yemen. AP

Dozens of migrants have drowned off Yemen and nearly 200 were missing after their boat capsized.

The boat came from Djibouti and sank off the coast of Ras Al Ara in the country's south on Thursday.

"Over 180 are still missing and dozens of bodies were seen floating miles from the coast," Col Farooq Al Kalouli told The National on Monday.

"We expect more corpses to float along the coastline in the coming few hours."

Fishermen contacted authorities after they found more than five African migrants swimming desperately towards the shore,  Col Al Kalouli said.

"According to the fishermen, the survivors said they were travelling on a fishing boat operated by Yemeni traffickers when it flipped about 18 miles from Ras Al Ara coast in the Red Sea."

Residents told The National that the boat carrying the migrants was owned by a Yemeni trafficker who lived in Mocha, a port city in the western Taiz province.

"He is still missing along with his son and two others," a resident said.

The International Organisation for Migration said it was verifying the incident and would provide updates.

"We are verifying reports that a vessel carrying a large number of migrants from the Horn of Africa has sunk off the coast of Yemen," said Avand Hasan, the organisation's programme support officer.

"Our teams are on the ground and ready to respond to the needs of survivors."

The UN refugee agency said it was verifying the number and identities of the missing migrants and would join efforts to support any survivors.

"UNHCR is dismayed to learn about yet another boat with mainly Ethiopian nationals on board capsizing off the coast of Yemen," the agency said.

Hundreds of African migrants from the Horn of Africa arrive in south-western Yemen each day.

Most want to travel to the Gulf states to seek a better life and opportunities.

The International Organisation for Migration said about 138,000 African migrants made the journey to Yemen in 2019, but only 37,500 arrived in 2020.