A security source tells the news agency AFP on Sunday that "150 people were on board the ship that sank" while another source says that "searches are ongoing".
Abdusattor Esoev, head of the UN's migration organization (IOM) in Yemen, tells the news agency AP that 68 people have been found dead and that 74 are missing. A total of 154 Ethiopians were on board and only twelve have survived.
The bodies of the dead have been taken to different morgues in the area.
Esoev says that all the missing are presumed dead.
The province's security directorate states in a statement that the security forces "are currently carrying out a large operation to recover the bodies of a significant number of Ethiopian migrants who drowned off the coast of Abyan when they tried to illegally enter Yemeni territory".
”Many bodies”
"Many bodies have been found on different beaches, indicating that a number of victims are still missing at sea", the statement continues.
Abyan stretches northeast from the port city of Aden.
It is unclear what caused the incident. But shipping in the area is plagued by several security challenges. Swimming ability is low and often boats and ships lack basic safety equipment.
Furthermore, the networks that smuggle people in the conflict-ridden region generally take great risks in their operations.
Additionally, both pirates and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels often attack ships moving in the waters off Yemen's coast.
Tens of thousands travel
Despite the war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, irregular migration through the poor country has continued, especially from Ethiopia, which has also been ravaged by ethnic conflicts.
Hundreds of those who risked the journey have been found drowned in the sea while many more are missing.
In 2023, 97,200 migrants arrived in Yemen, according to IOM. Last year, it decreased to 60,000, probably because patrolling in the waters increased.
What attracts is the dream of a job in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where many workers from Africa and South Asia are found. Others see the area as a springboard further out into the world.
According to the UN, tens of thousands of migrants who have been subjected to abuse during their journeys have also been left in Yemen.
