UN AGENCY FEARS 30 SOMALI BOAT PEOPLE DEAD IN TRAGEDY OFF THE COAST OF YEMEN

Some 30 Somalis escaping across the Gulf of Aden are feared dead after one boat capsized and another hit rough seas this weekend in two separate smuggling incidents, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today.

The first boat, carrying 40 migrants, keeled over Saturday evening as the passengers attempted to disembark off the Yemeni coast. Although 20 made it to shore, the bodies of the remaining 20 have not been recovered, according to UNHCR.

Survivors washed ashore near Rass al Kalb, where a UNHCR partner, the Society for Human Solidarity (SHS), provided them with food and water before transporting them to the UNHCR reception centre in Mayfa'a for further assistance and registration.

The second tragedy occurred late Sunday afternoon off the coast of Rujeema, where survivors reported that eight migrants died and two were missing after their vessel, carrying 23, wandered into turbulent seas and began taking on water.

Witnesses told UNHCR that some of the deaths were due to suffocation as the smugglers covered the passengers with a tarpaulin in an effort to stop the water from getting in.

The 13 migrants that made it to dry land near Rujeema were given first aid by SHS and transferred to the UNHCR reception centre in Mayfa'a.

So far this year, a reported 17,035 people have made the dangerous voyage from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, while 74 people have died and 51 remain missing at sea, according to UNHCR.

Those who make the Gulf of Aden crossing are fleeing desperate situations of civil war, political instability, poverty and famine in Somalia and the region.
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AT LEAST SEVEN DEAD IN LATEST SMUGGLING TRAGEDY OFF YEMENI COAST – UN

At least seven Africans drowned over the weekend when the smugglers' boat they were travelling in capsized shortly after docking in the Yemeni port of Aden, the United Nations refugee agency has reported, adding that 85 passengers survived thanks to rescue efforts by local officials and the French Navy.

The incident occurred on Saturday as passengers tried to disembark from the boat, which had just been towed to the Yemeni coast by a French frigate that on Thursday had found it adrift and taking on water in the Gulf of Aden.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) said the French sailors stopped the leak and then towed the boat, which was carrying 104 people, to Aden. As it docked, "the frightened passengers all rushed at the same time to disembark, causing the vessel to founder because of the sudden shift in balance," the agency said in a press release.

French sailors and the Yemeni coastguard rescued 85 passengers, which included Somalis and Ethiopians, and four of the smugglers, who were later arrested. In addition to the seven that drowned, five people are missing and presumed dead.

"We are grateful to the French Navy and the Yemeni authorities, including port officials and the coastguard, for the rescue operation," said Leila Nassif, the head of UNHCR's sub-office in Aden. "As soon as the boat overturned, we saw everyone jump in the water and no effort was spared to save lives."

According to UNHCR, some 260 boats and 13,250 people have made the dangerous voyage across the Gulf of Aden from the Horn of Africa to Yemen so far this year, with 54 people reported dead and 36 missing at sea.
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