Thirty migrants drown off Yemen

At least 30 Somali and Ethiopian migrants have drowned off the coast of Yemen en route from Somalia, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) says.

It said it was checking reports the number of dead could be as high as 78.

The migrants, fleeing fighting and harsh living conditions, died when the vessel smuggling them capsized.

This is the second mass drowning in the area recently. Fifteen migrants died in early February after being left in deep waters, Reuters news agency reports.

The UNHCR in Yemen says that 27,000 people made the crossing from Somalia in 2006, but 330 others died and 300 went missing.

The latest incident took place on Monday in the Gulf of Aden. According to the UN, Yemen's armed forces rescued 40 of the 120 migrants aboard the vessel.

Desperate tactics

UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said that 'sketchy unconfirmed' reports had come in of around 78 people having been drowned.

"We are getting different numbers from people in the region.... apparently bodies are washing ashore in various places", he told the AP news agency.

Migrants desperate to escape the conditions in the Horn of Africa region are smuggled into the Arabian peninsula.

This has become increasingly perilous due to increased patrols by the Yemeni forces, leading the smugglers to adopt desperate tactics.

This includes dropping off the migrants in deep waters along the Yemen coast.

There has been a dramatic increase in the numbers of people over the last few weeks due to recent fighting in Somalia, the UN says.

It adds that as many as 1,600 people in 20 boats have made the crossing during this period.