A boat with at least 45 refugees capsized off the coast of Yemen's Taiz on Wednesday night, and there are only four survivors, the UN refugee agency in Yemen said on Thursday. The boat capsized because of strong winds and overloading, the agency added. It said it was working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to assist the survivors and provide protection.
No further details were provided about the rest of the refugees.
Migrant boat mayhem
In June, at least 49 migrants died and 140 went missing after their vessel, which departed from Somalia carrying 260 migrants, capsized off the Yemeni coast. IOM, which runs a tally of migrants who are killed or go missing on migration routes, has since 2014 recorded 1,860 migrant deaths and disappearances along the route running from East Africa and the Horn of Africa to Gulf countries.
According to the United Nations, 97,000 migrants arrived in Yemen from the Horn of Africa last year.
Boat with 300 migrants capsized off Mauritania
In a separate incident, more than a dozen migrants died and at least 150 others are missing after their boat capsized off Mauritania on their way to Europe, the International Organization for Migration said, triggering a frantic search and rescue operation. There were 300 migrants on the boat that capsized on Monday near the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, and 120 have been rescued by the Mauritanian Coast Guard, the IOM said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Tragically, 15 people were confirmed dead upon arrival,” it said, adding that search efforts were still underway.
A surge of migrants has left West Africa in recent years through Senegal, from where they have to navigate north past Mauritania to reach Spain’s Canary Islands. In the latest case, the migrants were travelling on artisanal fishing boats, known as pirogues, which can be overwhelmed by strong winds and Atlantic currents. While thousands have survived the risky journey, many die or disappear along the way, with remains sometimes washing up on the other side of the Atlantic.
(With inputs from agency)
Also Read: Yemen: 49 killed, 140 missing after migrant boat sinks off coast, 71 rescued so far
