60 missing after ship capsizes off Yemen’s Socotra island

Sa, Dec 7: A total of 60 persons went missing after their ship capsized off the remote island of Socotra in Yemen, authorities said on Wednesday. The country’s Ministry of Fisheries in a statement said the ship went missing around 25 miles from the island of Socotra five days ago, as it headed from the southeastern province of Hadramout toward Socotra with 60 persons on board, including children, Xinhua news agency reported.

Fisheries Minister Fahid Kafayen said on his official Facebook account that “four civilians were rescued by Spanish and Yemeni commercial ships that we were sailing in the area.”

The minister said that “the search operation is still ongoing and we are still looking for other survivors.” Yemen’s Prime Minister Bin Dagher issued orders to form a committee to follow up on the incident and cooperate with coast guard forces to rescue the civilians. Another source said that Yemen’s intertiolly backed government asked commanders of the Saudi-led Arab coalition to assist in the search operation. (IANS)