49 Migrants Killed After Boat Capsizes Off Yemen Coast
Facts
- At least 49 people have been killed and 140 others remain missing after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Yemen on Monday.1
- According to the International Organization for Migration, the boat, which departed from Somalia for Yemen on Sunday, had 260 Somali and Ethiopian citizens on board.2
- The deceased include at least six children and 31 women, while 71 people survived the wreck, including eight who required further medical attention. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.1
- In April, at least 62 people were killed in two shipwrecks off the coast of Djibouti as they attempted to cross the Gulf of Aden to reach Yemen.3
- Since 2014, more than 1.8K people have reportedly died or disappeared along the route from the East and Horn of Africa to the Gulf countries.4
Sources: 1CBS, 2USA Today, 3Al Jazeera and 4International Organization for Migration.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by International Organization for Migration. Many migrants who choose to undertake such dangerous journeys are desperate and vulnerable people at risk of drowning as well as human trafficking at the hands of smugglers. This is a sad and tragic accident that is the result of a global migration crisis.
- Narrative B, as provided by Al Jazeera. These deaths of migrants aren't accidental. Such tragedies expose a solidarity crisis in the Middle East and the EU, as there's no mechanism in place to share the responsibility for hosting migrants. It's a deliberate hands-off policy that seesinnocent people drown. This perpetual cycle of neglect must end.