13 dead and 14 missing in Yemen migrant shipwreck

Ethiopian migrants make their way to a boat in Obock, Djibouti, ready to set sail for Yemen in 2023. AFP

Thirteen people have died and 14 others are missing after a ship carrying migrants capsized off the southwestern coast of Yemen, the UN-affiliated International Organisation for Migration reported on Sunday, the latest in a series of tragedies in the region involving migrant vessels.

The ship tipped over off the coast of Ta’iz governorate on Tuesday carrying 25 Ethiopian migrants and two Yemeni nationals. It eventually sank in the stretch of sea known as Bab Al Mandeb, the UN organisation said. The sea divides Yemen from neighbouring Djibouti in east Africa, where the boat had set sail.

The bodies of 11 men and two women were recovered on nearby shores, while a search operation continued for those missing, including the ship's captain and assistant.

It was unclear what caused the vessel to capsize.

It follows a similar incident in late July in which 41 people were killed in a capsizing, and another tragedy in June when 56 people died, both off the coast of Yemen.