Faith Nyasuguta
At least 68 African migrants have died and 74 remain missing after a boat carrying 154 Ethiopian nationals capsized off Yemen’s southern coast on August 3, 2025. The vessel had departed from Somalia and was en route to the Gulf when it overturned near Yemen’s Abyan Province. Only 12 people survived the wreck, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which described the incident as one of the deadliest on the Eastern Route in recent memory.
The bodies of 54 victims were found scattered along Khanfar’s coastline, while 14 others were recovered in different locations and taken to a local morgue. Search efforts for the remaining missing migrants are ongoing, as humanitarian agencies scramble to assist survivors and retrieve the dead.
This latest tragedy has once again drawn global attention to the dangers of the Eastern Route, a well-trodden yet deadly migration corridor connecting the Horn of Africa – mainly Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia – to Yemen and onward to the Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia. Despite being ranked the fourth deadliest migrant route in the world, tens of thousands continue to take the journey every year in hopes of escaping poverty, violence, and lack of opportunity in their home countries.
According to IOM data, more than 2,100 migrants have died or gone missing along the Eastern Route between 2014 and September 2024. While it trails behind the Central Mediterranean, the Sahara Desert crossing, and the Atlantic route to Spain’s Canary Islands in total fatalities, the Eastern Route is considered the most active route out of East Africa. In 2024 alone, 558 deaths were recorded along this path – the highest annual toll ever documented.
What makes the route especially hazardous is the combination of overcrowded boats, dangerous waters, and the brutal treatment migrants face at the hands of smugglers and traffickers. Survivors from past journeys have recounted horrifying stories of beatings, extortion, and sexual violence. Smuggling networks, often unregulated and ruthless, exploit the desperation of migrants who feel they have no legal or safe alternatives.
A recent report by the Mixed Migration Centre revealed that only 2% of migrants trust the smugglers who transport them, yet many still rely on them due to the absence of official migration channels. Migrants often pay about $300 for passage across the Gulf of Aden or Red Sea, a sum they are sometimes forced to borrow or raise by selling family possessions. Once in Yemen, many face even greater risks – kidnappings, forced labor, and extortion from militias or criminal gangs.
The incident in Abyan is not isolated. In June 2025, another migrant boat was forced to disembark off Djibouti’s coast, leading to multiple drownings. IOM estimates that nearly 9,000 migrant deaths were recorded globally in 2024, and believes the true toll is likely much higher due to underreporting.
Humanitarian organizations, including the IOM, are calling for urgent regional coordination to tackle the root causes of migration – poverty, conflict, and unemployment – as well as to provide safer alternatives. They are also urging governments to strengthen migrant protection, improve border surveillance, and crack down on human trafficking networks.
Unless meaningful action is taken, the Eastern Route will continue to claim lives – one overloaded boat at a time.
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