An international aid group last night said it discovered the bodies of 56 men, women and children on Yemen's southern coast who perished trying to emigrate illegally from Africa.
Medecins Sans Frontieres' team in Yemen found the victims along a three mile stretch of coast near the town of al-Irqah on Saturday, along with 49 survivors who said they left the Somali port city of Bossasso three days earlier in an attempt to cross the Gulf of Aden.
The survivors said the 26-ft fibreglass boat set off with a total of 148 Somalians and Ethiopians on board, including some 40 women and five children - the youngest eight months old.
The group had no food or water, and at least four people died during the trip from the harsh conditions, MSF quoted the survivors as saying in a statement.
The boat arrived off the Yemeni coast in the middle of the night, and the passengers were forced to jump into the water or suffer a severe beating. During the ensuing panic, the passengers rushed to one side of the boat, and the vessel capsized. The fate of those not found dead or alive on the Yemeni coast is unknown. It is understood that up to 180 people could have been on the boat.
The MSF team provided medical assistance and offered counseling to the survivors, many of whom had lost multiple relatives or friends.