By Xinhua,
Geneva : Six people are still missing after a mishap in the Gulf of Aden involving a smuggler’s boat operating off-season despite the rough seas, the United Nations refugee agency said on Wednesday.
On Saturday a fishing boat carrying about 175 people from Somalia was stranded in deep water when it broke down while approaching the Yemeni coast, said the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) in a statement.
Some were rescued by fishermen while another group managed to leave on a smaller boat and reach the coast through heavy storms and choppy seas.
The Yemeni Coast Guard also deployed three boats to rescue the stranded passengers. But survivors reported that six passengers were still missing, UNHCR said.
According to the agency, the weekend incident marked the end of a brief lull over the summer, when bad weather traditionally prevents human smugglers from operating in the Gulf of Aden.
In the last week alone, nine boats have brought more than 458 people, mainly Somalis and Ethiopians, to the coast of Yemen.
So far this year, more than 22,532 people have made the perilous Gulf of Aden crossing aboard smugglers’ boats. More than 165 people have died trying to make the voyage this year and 220 are missing.