Global General

49 Somali refugees drowned off Yemen

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-24 18:51

SANAA - As many as 49 Somali refugees were drowned when their boat capsized four miles off the coast of Yemen's southeast province of Shabwa, Yemeni Interior Ministry said late on Wednesday.

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"A Somali refugee who survived and swam to the coast told the UNHCR in Shabwa, and the latter then reported it to the Yemeni local security authorities," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

It said the accident took place on Tuesday, caused by strong winds. It was unknown how many people were on the boat.

Yemeni coast-guards had started to help search for other survivors.