UN officials said that at least 46 migrants lost their lives by drowning as a result of a boat carrying Somalian migrants sank off Yemen. Search and rescue works continue for 16 missing people.

At least 100 migrants crammed onto a smuggler’s boat that left the port of Bossaso, Somalia on 5 June.  They were reportedly all Ethiopian, 83 men and 17 women. After traveling through the night across the short but treacherous Gulf of Aden, their boat approached the shore at 5 am on 6 June.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday morning that the boat had sunk in the Gulf of Aden and that 37 of the deceased were male and 9 were female. Some immigrants on the boat recorded had no lifejackets.

"The Gulf of Aden’s shameful migration tragedy is one that is hidden in plain sight," said Mohammed Abdiker, Director of Department of Operations and Emergencies of IOM.

"Over 7,000 poor migrants take this perilous journey every month; some 100,000 took it just last year. They are treated appallingly and go through horrendous conditions. This has to end," he added. (ILKHA)