Six people drowned and another 11 are missing and presumed dead after smugglers carrying 52 Somalis and Ethiopians across the Gulf of Aden forced the passengers overboard after spotting Yemeni police onshore, the U.N. Refugee Agency reported on Tuesday. Survivors reported that the ship set sail from Suweto in Somalia carrying 40 Somalis and 12 Ethiopians in the perilous voyage from the Horn of Africa across the Gulf of Aden. This is third fatal incident so far this year involving human smugglers in the Gulf of Aden. A total of 168 boats and some 9,500 people have reached Yemen's coast. The death toll stands at 48. In 2008, 50,000 people crossed the Gulf of Aden to Yemen and the figures so far this year are slightly higher than for the same period last, the U.N. Refugee Agency said The agency says its capacity and resources are strained by the continuing flow of refugees.
