63 people, mainly Somalis, including women and children, are feared dead after being forced overboard from a smuggler's boat carrying them to Yemen, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.
Some 33 bodies were found and another 30 people were missing and probably drowned after the incident on Saturday during a crossing of the Gulf of Aden.
According to the UNHCR office in Aden, Yemen, a boat sailing from Somalia forced all 137 passengers, three of them Ethiopians, into deep waters off the Yemeni coast, before turning around and heading back to Somalia.
By Monday evening, scores of people had reached shore. The bodies of the dead were found near Al Hodeiya, 10 km east of Bir Ali on the southern Yemeni coast, it added.
"The latest tragic incident once again highlights the urgent need for joint international and local efforts to address this problem and minimise the flow of desperate people who fall victim to ruthless smugglers," the UNHCR said.
Thousands of Somalis, many fleeing violence in their homeland, arrive in Yemen every year. On average an estimated 100 people arrive each day between September and March when sailing conditions are good.
The smuggling networks, which target migrants as well as asylum seekers, are well organised with some people coming from as far away as Sri Lanka.
Between January 12 and 17, 22 boats carrying an unknown number of Somalis and Ethiopians arrived in Yemen.
Of those, UNHCR registered 1,217 Somalis and 39 Ethiopians. On Jan. 16, a boat carrying 65 people and six dead bodies arrived in Yemen. Another 14 people reportedly died during the voyage, the UNHCR said.
