At least 54 migrants have drowned and dozens remain missing after a boat carrying around 150 people sank in bad weather off southern Yemen on Sunday, according to health officials.

The boat went down near the Ahwar district in Abyan province, along Yemen’s southern coast, according to security sources. Survivors said the vessel was overcrowded and departed despite rough seas. Rescue teams are still searching for dozens of missing passengers.

Only ten individuals have been rescued so far, nine Ethiopians and one Yemeni, according to Abdul Qadir Bajameel, a provincial health official. The remaining passengers are feared to have drowned. Rescuers are continuing to search for survivors, but hopes are fading.

Security sources reported that the boat sank due to adverse weather conditions, although the exact cause remains unclear. Two medics at the scene confirmed that bodies were still being recovered from the water and the surrounding coastline.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that Yemen is witnessing a sharp increase in irregular migration from the Horn of Africa, particularly Ethiopia and Somalia. Migrants often attempt to cross the Bab al-Mandab strait—one of the world’s busiest and most perilous sea routes in hopes of reaching Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to find work.

Despite Yemen’s ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis, it remains a major transit point for migrants. The IOM said more than 60,000 migrants arrived in Yemen via this route last year alone.

“These journeys are often deadly,” the IOM has previously stated, noting that the boats used are typically overcrowded and unseaworthy, with little regard for safety or weather conditions.

This latest disaster underscores the growing human cost of irregular migration and the desperation driving people to risk everything for a better future.

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