UN: 46 migrants drown on Yemen’s shores, 16 missing

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA (AA) - The UN migration agency said on Wednesday that 46 migrants have drowned and 16 others are being presumed dead as they are still missing in Yemen's shores.

"Tragedy struck migrants trying to cross from the Horn of Africa to find employment in Yemen and the Gulf, when their vessel capsized in high waves as it approached its destination in the early hours of June 6," International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement.

According to survivors, the passengers who were without lifejackets in the smuggler’s boat started panicking as high waves struck close to the shore and as the boat took on water, they were pitched headlong into the rough seas where so many succumbed.

"At least 100 migrants crammed onto a smuggler’s boat that left the port of Bossaso, Somalia on 5 June. They were reportedly all Ethiopian, 83 men and 17 women," IOM said.