More than 40 people were rescued off the Yemeni island of Socotra on Wednesday (December 7th) after a cargo vessel carrying islanders home from the mainland sank in the Indian Ocean , AFP reported.
Several others were still missing after a major search operation in the early hours, President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi said in a statement.
Local media reported that 42 people, including four women, had been rescued "and the search is continuing for 20 missing".
Yemen's war has disrupted transport links to Socotra. The Hadramaut province port of al-Mukalla, from which the sunken freighter set off, was controlled by al-Qaeda for a year until it was retaken by pro-Hadi forces in April.
Air links to Socotra from elsewhere in Yemen have all but ground to a halt amid the ongoing conflict, and there are no regular passenger ferries either, forcing islanders to seek berths on the occasional cargo vessel.
Throughout the conflict, Socotra has remained loyal to Hadi's government and has been spared the violence gripping much of Yemen.
Persistent unrest in the nearby Horn of Africa has meant 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 Gulf neighbours.
At least 79 have perished while attempting to cross the Gulf of Aden this year, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has said.
