About 42 African refugees drowned Sunday evening off the Yemeni coast when their boat capsized in the Gulf of Aden, the Yemeni government said, adding while about 30 people were rescued, search was on for more survivors.
The accident took place a few kilometres off the Bir Ali coast of Yemen's southern province of Shabwa, Xinhua quoted Yemen defence ministry as saying in a statement, adding Yemeni coastal guards found 42 bodies of the African refugees and managed to rescue another 30 people.
The ministry did not mention the nationality of the refugees, but local authorities said they were Somalis and Ethiopians.
A security official confirmed the incident to AFP but no more details were immediately available.
African migrants, especially Ethiopians and Somalis fleeing poverty and unrest at home, generally slip into southern Yemen by boat before heading north towards the Saudi frontier.
Some 84,000 people from Horn of Africa countries flooded into Yemen in 2012 hoping to find jobs in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
Monday 10 March 2014
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/42-african-refugees-drown-off-yemeni-coast-114031000057_1.html
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