15 Ethiopian migrants have died after the boat trying to smuggle them into Yemen broke down and left them stranded at sea without food or water for a week, the U.N. migration agency said.
Survivors said some died from hunger and thirst and others drowned themselves, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said. “A number reached Yemen but died before they could get medical help,’’ it added.
“The migrants were travelling from Djibouti to Yemen when the smugglers’ boat broke down. Those on board reported that lives were lost due to hunger, thirst and intentional drowning, while some people died in Yemen, as they could not reach health facilities in time’’.
The boat, which was originally carrying 90 Ethiopians, arrived in Yemen’s Southern port city of Aden on Monday but the whereabouts of most of the survivors were unknown. In May, the agency called for the release of more than 3,000 migrants, mostly Ethiopians, who, it said, were held in inhumane conditions in two detention centres in Aden and neighbouring Lahj, which are under the control of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
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