ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a smuggling boat sinking off the Yemeni coast has climbed to 54, with dozens still missing, local health officials told Xinhua Sunday.
Fifty-four bodies have been retrieved from the coastal areas in southern Yemen's Abyan province during the past hours, according to Abdul Qader Bajamil, director of the health office in Abyan province.
The tragedy unfolded Saturday night when the smuggling boat carrying around 150 African migrants overturned at around 11:00 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) due to strong winds.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing as authorities continue efforts to locate the dozens who are still unaccounted for. Bajamil said health authorities are making arrangements to bury all recovered bodies in an area near Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province.
Earlier in the day, 12 survivors were rescued and transferred to Shaqra General Hospital for treatment.
A statement from the Abyan security authorities said those irregular migrants are of Ethiopian origin, who drowned while attempting to enter Yemeni territory aboard smuggling boats from the Horn of Africa.
According to the statement, many bodies were found scattered along different coastal areas, raising concerns that more victims may have been lost at sea.
The statement urged local and international organizations to take urgent action to curb the flow of illegal migration through Yemeni territorial waters.
Despite Yemen's ongoing conflict and what the United Nations has called one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, African migrants continue to cross the Red Sea into the country, often facing dire conditions upon arrival. Enditem
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