Divya Delhi : The bodies of 54 migrants washed up near Khanfar, Yemen. 14 others died and were transferred to Zinjibar's hospital morgue. A boat capsized off southern Yemen on Sunday, killing 68 African migrants and leaving 74 missing, the UN migration agency reported. According to Abdusattor Esoev, head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Yemen, the vessel carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants drowned in the Gulf of Aden in Abyan province, the Associated Press reported. Esoev told AP that 54 migrants' bodies washed up in Khanfar. In Zinjibar, Abyan's southern coast provincial capital, 14 more bodies were recovered in a hospital morgue. Esoev said only 12 migrants escaped the shipwreck, while the others were missing and feared dead. The Abyan security directorate said a large-scale search and rescue effort was begun due to the heavy deaths. Authorities found many dead along a large stretch of coastline. This was the latest tragedy, according to the IOM. Four boats carrying migrants sank off Yemen and Djibouti in March, killing two and leaving 186 missing. The IOM reported in March that more than 60,000 migrants entered Yemen in 2024, down from 97,200 in 2023. Increased regional water patrolling likely caused the change. Yemen remains a major gateway for East African and Horn of African migrants seeking work in Gulf Arab nations despite more than a decade of civil strife.