More than 30 people were missing off the Yemeni island of Socotra on Wednesday after a cargo vessel carrying islanders home from the mainland sank in the Indian Ocean, authorities said.
At least 26 passengers were rescued from the water after a major search operation in the early hours, President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi said in a statement on the official sabanew.net website.
The ship sank northwest of Socotra -- around 350 kilometres (220 miles) from Yemen's south coast -- which has been hit by rare tropical cyclones in recent months.
Hadi called for "doubling efforts to broaden rescue operations to reduce the scope of the catastrophe that has struck the inhabitants of Socotra."
Officials declined to say if inclement weather was behind the disaster but Yemeni Fisheries Minister Fahd Kavieen earlier told reporters that the vessel had "an accident."
"Sixty people, including women and children, were aboard the vessel, which was also carrying small fishing boats," he said.
The government said United Arab Emirates jets were assisting search and rescue operations alongside Yemeni coastguards as well as two ships from Australia and Austria.
It did not specify whether those vessels were merchant ships or part of an international flotilla that has been fighting piracy off the nearby Somali coast.
Although long ruled from Yemen, Socotra lies closer to the coast of Africa than it does to the Arabian Peninsula.
It sits at the exit of a busy shipping lane from the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea into the Indian Ocean.
For years it was prey to piracy from the lawless Somali coast and it is in one of the most heavily patrolled maritime areas on Earth.
Kavieen did not specify whether warships of the international counter-piracy operation were taking part in the search for survivors.
He said that the ship had been out of contact for several days and its sinking was confirmed on Tuesday.
"Vessels have been combing the area since the early hours and there is significant hope that the passengers have survived," he said.
Yemen has been ravaged by conflict for the past two years, disrupting transport links to the archipelago.
The port of Mukalla, from which the sunken freighter set off, was controlled by Al-Qaeda for a full year until it was retaken by pro-government forces in April.
Air links to Socotra from elsewhere in Yemen have all but ground to a halt as Hadi's beleaguered government battles rebels who still control the capital Sanaa.
There are no regular passenger ferries either, forcing islanders to seek berths on the occasional cargo vessel.
Throughout the devastating conflict that has pitted forces supporting Hadi against Shiite rebels and their allies, Socotra has remained loyal to his Saudi-backed government and has been spared the violence gripping much of Yemen.
- Tourism potential -
Socotra has enormous tourism potential which has never been realised because of the repeated conflicts suffered by Yemen.
Its isolation from the landmasses of both Africa and Asia has led to the evolution of unique plant life, much of it found nowhere else on Earth.
Among the most famous is the dragon's blood tree, a bizarre umbrella-shaped plant that earned its name from its blood-red sap which was much sought after as a dye in the ancient world.
Persistent unrest in the nearby Horn of Africa has meant that the waters around Socotra have seen a steady flow of Ethiopian and Somali migrants ready to risk the perilous sea crossing in the hope of reaching Yemen's energy-rich Gulf neighbours.
At least 79 people have perished while attempting to cross the Gulf of Aden this year, the UN refugee agency has said.
More than 30 people were missing off the Yemeni island of Socotra on Wednesday after a cargo vessel carrying islanders home from the mainland sank in the Indian Ocean, authorities said.
At least 26 passengers were rescued from the water after a major search operation in the early hours, President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi said in a statement on the official sabanew.net website.
The ship sank northwest of Socotra — around 350 kilometres (220 miles) from Yemen’s south coast — which has been hit by rare tropical cyclones in recent months.
Hadi called for “doubling efforts to broaden rescue operations to reduce the scope of the catastrophe that has struck the inhabitants of Socotra.”
Officials declined to say if inclement weather was behind the disaster but Yemeni Fisheries Minister Fahd Kavieen earlier told reporters that the vessel had “an accident.”
“Sixty people, including women and children, were aboard the vessel, which was also carrying small fishing boats,” he said.
The government said United Arab Emirates jets were assisting search and rescue operations alongside Yemeni coastguards as well as two ships from Australia and Austria.
It did not specify whether those vessels were merchant ships or part of an international flotilla that has been fighting piracy off the nearby Somali coast.
Although long ruled from Yemen, Socotra lies closer to the coast of Africa than it does to the Arabian Peninsula.
It sits at the exit of a busy shipping lane from the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea into the Indian Ocean.
For years it was prey to piracy from the lawless Somali coast and it is in one of the most heavily patrolled maritime areas on Earth.
Kavieen did not specify whether warships of the international counter-piracy operation were taking part in the search for survivors.
He said that the ship had been out of contact for several days and its sinking was confirmed on Tuesday.
“Vessels have been combing the area since the early hours and there is significant hope that the passengers have survived,” he said.
Yemen has been ravaged by conflict for the past two years, disrupting transport links to the archipelago.
The port of Mukalla, from which the sunken freighter set off, was controlled by Al-Qaeda for a full year until it was retaken by pro-government forces in April.
Air links to Socotra from elsewhere in Yemen have all but ground to a halt as Hadi’s beleaguered government battles rebels who still control the capital Sanaa.
There are no regular passenger ferries either, forcing islanders to seek berths on the occasional cargo vessel.
Throughout the devastating conflict that has pitted forces supporting Hadi against Shiite rebels and their allies, Socotra has remained loyal to his Saudi-backed government and has been spared the violence gripping much of Yemen.
– Tourism potential –
Socotra has enormous tourism potential which has never been realised because of the repeated conflicts suffered by Yemen.
Its isolation from the landmasses of both Africa and Asia has led to the evolution of unique plant life, much of it found nowhere else on Earth.
Among the most famous is the dragon’s blood tree, a bizarre umbrella-shaped plant that earned its name from its blood-red sap which was much sought after as a dye in the ancient world.
Persistent unrest in the nearby Horn of Africa has meant that the waters around Socotra have seen a steady flow of Ethiopian and Somali migrants ready to risk the perilous sea crossing in the hope of reaching Yemen’s energy-rich Gulf neighbours.
At least 79 people have perished while attempting to cross the Gulf of Aden this year, the UN refugee agency has said.
