Seventy Ethiopian migrants drown off Red Sea coast of Yemen
Sun Dec 7, 2014 6:42pm GMT
(adds UPDATE 1 to headline)
SANAA Dec 7 (Reuters) - At least 70 Ethiopians drowned when a boat used by
smugglers to transport illegal migrants to Yemen sank in the Red Sea in
rough weather, security authorities in the western part of the country said
on Sunday.
Human traffickers often use unseaworthy boats to smuggle African migrants to
Yemen, seen as a gateway to wealthier parts of the Middle East, such as
Saudi Arabia and Oman, and the West.
Security authorities in Taiz province said the small boat sank on Saturday
due to high winds and rough seas off the country's al-Makha port.
They said the boat was carrying 70 people, all of them Ethiopians.
Tens of thousands of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and beyond crowd
into often unsafe boats each year and many drown.
In March, at least 42 illegal African migrants drowned in the Arabian Sea
off the southern coast of Yemen. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by
Sami Aboudi; Editing by Stephen Powell)