At least 76 people have died and dozens more are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off the coast of Yemen, in what officials have described as one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in the region this year.

The vessel, which was heading towards Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, capsized on Sunday in the Gulf of Aden. Yemeni security officials confirmed that 76 bodies had been recovered, while 32 survivors were rescued. The UN migration agency said the boat had 157 people on board at the time of the incident.

“This is one of the deadliest shipwrecks off Yemen this year,” said Abdusattor Esoev, Chief of Mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Yemen.

Some survivors have been transferred to the port city of Aden, which lies near Abyan, according to local officials.

While the IOM had earlier confirmed at least 68 deaths, Esoev said the full toll remains uncertain, as many people are still unaccounted for.

Despite its ongoing civil war, Yemen remains a major transit route for migrants, particularly from Ethiopia, where ethnic conflict and poverty continue to drive people out. Thousands attempt the dangerous “Eastern Route” each year from Djibouti across the Red Sea, hoping to reach wealthier nations in the Gulf.

“The route is mostly controlled by smugglers and trafficking networks,” said Ayla Bonfiglio of the Mixed Migration Centre. “Migrants know the risks, but many have no choice. With no legal alternatives and families depending on income from Saudi Arabia or the Emirates, they take the chance.”

Last year, the IOM recorded 558 deaths on this same migration path—462 of them from boat accidents. Just last month, at least eight migrants drowned after being forced off a boat mid-sea by smugglers.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State for the Vatican, said Pope Francis was “deeply saddened by the devastating loss of life.”

Authorities in Abyan say efforts to recover bodies are ongoing, with more still feared lost to the sea.