It was the deadliest boat accident on the migration path known as the "Eastern Route" in the past five years. On Sunday, August 3, at least 90 people drowned off the coast of Yemen, near the town of Shoqra. According to Abdusattor Esoev, the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Chief of Mission in Yemen, 154 people were aboard a wooden boat when it capsized in the Gulf of Aden. The boat was overloaded and sailing in rough seas, and though 12 migrants – all men – survived, around 50 other people were still missing. All of them hailed from Ethiopia.

On Monday, Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed "deep sorrow" and conveyed its condolences to the victims' families, in a statement reported by the state-backed Fana Media Corporation. The ministry also urged Ethiopian citizens to "avoid irregular migration routes" and to "protect themselves from human traffickers, who exploit vulnerable individuals and expose them to life-threatening risks."

Sinkings along this route, one of the "one of the world's most dangerous migration corridors," according to the IOM, are not uncommon. In March, four migrant boats sank in the area, resulting in a grim toll of 180 missing individuals. Moreover, these figures do not include other damage they can suffer at sea: On Wednesday, at least seven Ethiopians died from thirst and hunger, and several others went missing after a boat traveling from Somalia to Yemen broke down in the open sea.

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