http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2014/06/62-african-migrants-and-crew-drown-in-boat-tragedy-off-yemen-un/
62 African migrants and crew drown in boat tragedy off Yemen: UN
By AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE | June 6, 2014
GENEVA, June 6- Sixty migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia and two
Yemeni crew members drowned last weekend in the worst such tragedy off
the coast of Yemen this year, the UN said Friday.
"The tragedy is the largest single loss of life of migrants and
refugees attempting to reach Yemen via the Red Sea and the Gulf of
Aden this year," Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN's refugee
agency, told reporters in Geneva.
The UN agency said it was still seeking information about the tragedy,
but had confirmed that the boat carrying 60 Ethiopian and Somali
migrants and two Yemeni crew members sank last Saturday in the Red
Sea.
"The victims were reportedly buried by local residents after their
bodies washed ashore near the Bab El Mandeb area off Yemen's coast,"
UNHCR said in a statement.
The agency pointed out that counting previous such tragedies in the
same area, at least 121 people have so far died this year trying to
reach Yemen.
UNHCR said it had documented the arrival of 16,500 refugees and
migrants on the Yemeni coast during the first four months of 2014
alone.
That number however was far below the 35,000 who arrived in Yemen
during the same period last year.
"Over the past five years, more than half a million people, mainly
Somalis, Ethiopians and Eritreans, have crossed the dangerous waters
of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to reach Yemen," Edwards said.
"Boats are overcrowded and smugglers have reportedly thrown passengers
overboard to prevent capsizing or avoid detection," he added, pointing
out that search-and-rescue officials estimate this has resulted in
hundreds of undocumented deaths in recent years.
Thousands more migrants, many trying to reach Europe, have died in
other tragedies at sea in recent years.
UNHCR said Friday it was "working to prevent the alarming loss of life
at sea and indifference to people desperately needing protection."
"We are reiterating our call for governments in the region to
strengthen their search-and-rescue capacities," Edwards said.
Received on Fri Jun 06 2014 - 08:01:53 EDT