35 African migrants drown as boat capsizes off Yemen

SANAA. April 24. KAZINFORM. At least 35 African migrants drowned and 13 were missing after a rickety boat carrying 110 people capsized off Yemen's southeastern coast yesterday, police said; Kazinform refers to Arab News.

Police officials told Arab News that 35 bodies, including nine women, washed up on the shore of Rada, some 260 km east of the southern port city of Aden. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 62 managed to swim to shore, and were taken to a medical center run by Doctors Without Borders, in nearby Ahwar. They said the accident took place early in the day as the overcrowded boat capsized in strong winds as it approached the shore after a three-day trip across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia. Another boat carrying 100 migrants arrived in the same area and its passengers disembarked safely, the officials said. Since the beginning of this year, 387 boats and 19,622 people have arrived in Yemen from the Horn of Africa via this dangerous sea route. Some 74 died while another 51 have gone missing during those trips. Last year, 50,000 people were smuggled into Yemen by sea and 949 died making the trip; Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.