Doha: The death toll in a boat carrying illegal migrants that sank last Monday off the Yemeni coast has risen to 90. Local sources confirmed that the boat was carrying 170 migrants, and rescue teams were able to recover only 40 survivors, while the search for the missing continues.

According to Qatar News Agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced earlier Tuesday that the boat capsized off the coast of the town of Shuqrah in Abyan Governorate, killing at least 56 people, most of whom were African migrants trying to reach other countries via the dangerous sea migration route.

The IOM said that this incident is the latest in a series of similar disasters that have occurred on the Yemeni coast in recent years, claiming the lives of hundreds of migrants seeking better living opportunities.