The United Nations organization is carrying out rescue operations with limited resources.

A boat full of refugees capsized near the Aden coast in Yemen on Tuesday (11 June), killing 49 people and leaving more than 140 missing. According to news agency AP, there were 260 people on board the boat, most of whom were from Ethiopia and Somalia.

The refugees were going from East Africa to Yemen. These people left Somalia in East Africa at around 3 am local time, which is about 600 kilometers away from Yemen. The United Nations organization International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducted a rescue operation, in which 71 people were rescued. Out of these, the condition of 8 people is critical.

IOM has recovered the bodies of 31 women and 6 children. IOM officials have feared that the death toll may increase. At present, rescue work is going on on a war footing.

31 women and 6 children died when the boat capsized. (File)

The boat was carrying 115 Somali and 145 Ethiopian citizens
IOM officials said that there were 115 Somali and 145 Ethiopian citizens on the boat. They said that the IOM team is having to carry out the rescue operation with limited resources.

According to the United Nations (UN), the boat left Bosaso, Somalia on Sunday. He said that every year thousands of African migrants try to cross the Red Sea via Yemen through the Eastern Route to reach Saudi Arabia.

In April, 62 people lost their lives on this route
UN officials said more than 62 people were killed in separate incidents over two weeks in April. IOM officials said more than 1,860 people have lost their lives on this route since 2014.

Officials said that the number of refugees going through this route in 2023 was more than 90 thousand. Due to this, the number of migrants in Yemen has now reached close to 4 lakh.