Hundreds of African migrants feared drowned

Hundreds of African migrants are feared drowned after their boats capsized in the Red Sea as they tried to reach Yemen.

Some 300 people were believed to be aboard two ships making the perilous crossing from the Horn of Africa, but only 30 had been rescued and a dozen bodies had washed up on the Yemeni coast. Of the 120 migrants on another ship which capsized in the Arabian Sea, only 80 made it to shore.

Bad weather was hindering the rescue operation, said Laila Nassif, head of the UN High Commission for Refugees.

Last year, 50,000 people, mainly Somalis and Ethiopians escaping political instability and poverty, used people-smugglers to get them to Yemen, from where they hoped to find work in the Middle East's oil states, according to the UNHCR. At least 590 of the migrants drowned and 359 were reported missing.

Migrants risk suffocation in the holds of crowded boats, beaten or being thrown overboard by smugglers trying to avoid detection by the Yemeni authorities. In the water they face not only the danger of drownig but of being eaten by sharks.

Every year, tens of thousands attempt the trip, but the number arriving in Yemen last year was up 70 per cent on 2007's total of 29,500 refugees, said Ron Redmond, a spokesman for the UNHCR.

In one incident, smugglers waited until they were within sight of the coast before demanding extra cash from passengers who had already paid $100, or £68, for their passage. Those unable to pay were beaten and thrown overboard.

Yemen has become an important link between eastern Africa and the Persian Gulf, the UN says, and estimates that two-thirds of those who survive the 36-hour crossing seek help from UNHCR camps in the country. UN officials have called on the international community for more support in dealing with the problem.

Elsewhere, the Thai navy was under investigation yesterday after reports that more than 100 migrant workers from Burma and Bangladesh may have drowned after a warship forced their barge back out to sea, leaving it drifting near the Andaman Islands.

The Royal Thai Navy and immigration officials have denied the allegations. The incident was said to have happened last month, and the UNHCR has demanded an explanation from the Thai government.