About 42 African refugees drowned Sunday evening off the Yemeni coast when their boat capsized in the Gulf of Aden, the Yemeni government said, adding while about 30 people were rescued, search was on for more survivors.
The accident took place a few kilometres off the Bir Ali coast of Yemen's southern province of Shabwa, Xinhua quoted Yemen defence ministry as saying in a statement, adding Yemeni coastal guards found 42 bodies of the African refugees and managed to rescue another 30 people.
The ministry did not mention the nationality of the refugees, but local authorities said they were Somalis and Ethiopians.