At least 82 African would-be migrants, mostly Somalis, have drowned off Yemen after their wooden boat capsized in choppy waters as it neared the end of its voyage from Somalia, Yemeni officials said.The incident occurred a few kilometres off the town of Ahwar in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan on the Gulf of Aden late on Friday, the officials said. They said local fishermen rescued 30 passengers and recovered bodies of 22 others after the boat ran into rocks and capsized.
Survivors told authorities there had been about 140 people aboard the boat. "Around 60 bodies washed up on shores of Ahwar today (Sunday) and up to 28 people are still missing," a local official in Ahwar told Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Sana'a by phone.