Yemen Monitor / Aden / Agencies
The United Nations migration agency reported on Wednesday that seven Ethiopian migrants died of hunger and thirst after the engine of their boat broke down in the Red Sea.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the boat, which was carrying 250 people—including 82 children—from Somalia to Yemen, arrived on Tuesday after a grueling week-long journey.
“The boat reportedly experienced an engine failure 100 nautical miles into the journey,” the IOM said in a statement.
It added, “What was supposed to be a 24-hour trip turned into a week-long ordeal, relying solely on wind and paddling.”
“Seven migrants died from hunger and thirst during the journey,” the organization stated.
This tragedy comes just days after a separate shipwreck off the coast of Yemen, which killed more than 90 migrants, most of them also Ethiopian.
In response, Ethiopian officials recently urged citizens to “avoid irregular migration routes.”
The Red Sea remains one of the deadliest migration routes in the world, claiming at least 558 lives in 2024, according to IOM figures.
Many migrants flee poverty and conflict in Ethiopia, seeking opportunities in wealthy Gulf states, using war-torn Yemen as a transit point.
An IOM medical team received the group of migrants upon arrival in Yemen on Wednesday. Some were transferred to a health clinic and later discharged in stable condition.
“These people survived a week of hell at sea,” said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Yemen. “They endured exploitation, terror, and trauma.”
