At least 49 die and 140 are missing in sinking of migrant boat off Yemen's coast, UN agency says
Cairo, Jun 11: A boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Yemen, killing at least 49 people and leaving another 140 missing, the UN group said on Tuesday.
The boat was carrying about 260 Somalis and Ethiopians from the northern coast of Somalia on the 320-kilometer journey across the Gulf of Aden when it sank Monday off of Yemen's southern coast, the International Organization for Migration said in a statement.
Seventy-one people have been rescued and the search is ongoing, the group said, noting that 31 women and six children are among the dead.
Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa trying to reach Gulf countries for work. Despite a nearly decade-long civil war in Yemen, the number of arriving migrants has tripled in recent years, from about 27,000 in 2021 to more than 90,000 last year, the IOM said last month. About 380,000 migrants are currently in Yemen, according to the agency.
To reach Yemen, migrants are taken by smugglers on often dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden.
In April, at least 62 people died in two shipwrecks off the coast of Djibouti as they tried to reach Yemen. The IOM said at least 1,860 people have died or disappeared along the route, including 480 who drowned.
Monday's sinking “is another reminder of the urgent need to work together to address urgent migration challenges and ensure the safety and security of migrants along migration routes,” said IOM spokesperson Mohammedali Abunajela.
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Eight women labourers killed as truck hits tempo on Nagpur-Mumbai expressway
Jalna/Mumbai (PTI): Eight women labourers were killed, and three others were injured after a speeding truck rammed into a tempo on the Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway in Jalna district of Maharashtra on Wednesday evening, police said.
The incident occurred when a group of women was returning home after completing cleaning work on the expressway.
"A total of 11 persons, including the driver, were sitting in the tempo. As the vehicle was about to start, a speeding truck headed towards Mumbai rammed into it from behind at Kadvanchi village," a police official said, adding that seven women died on the spot and another succumbed in the Jalna government hospital.
The tempo was badly mangled, and the bodies were reportedly strewn across the road.
The deceased have been identified as Alkabai Admane (45), Laxmibai Madan (35), Meena Admane (45), Kanchan Admane (50), Tarabai Choudhari (60), Kadubai Madan (55), and Suman Admane (70), all residents of Jalna tehsil.
The identity of the eighth deceased is yet to be confirmed.
Three people are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Police have arrested the truck driver and registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway.
Expressing grief, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the death of eight people is extremely unfortunate, and announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.
Fadnavis paid heartfelt tributes to the deceased and expressed solidarity with their families.
He said in a statement the injured have been immediately admitted to hospitals and the local administration is coordinating relief efforts.
The district collector and the superintendent of police are present at the spot, overseeing the situation, the chief minister added.
Environment Minister and Jalna District Guardian Minister Pankaja Munde has expressed deep sorrow over the incident.
In a condolence message, Munde extended her sympathies to the families of the deceased.
