More than 180 missing after migrant boats sink off Yemen, Djibouti

More than 180 people are missing after four boats carrying migrants sank between Djibouti and Yemen, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday.

The UN body did not give any information on the identity of those on the boats, but the route is often used by Ethiopians hoping to find work in Gulf countries or escape conflict.

It is one of the world's most dangerous migrant routes, according to the IOM, which documented more than 60,000 migrant arrivals in Yemen in 2024. Twenty Ethiopians were killed when their boat capsized off Yemen in January. The IOM said 558 people died along the route in 2024.