The United Nations refugee agency says at least 22 people died when a smuggler's boat carrying Ethiopians and Somalis capsized off the coast of Yemen on Saturday.
It says another 28 passengers aboard the vessel are missing.
The boat had set sail from a village near the Somali town of Bossaso - a major departure point for African migrant smugglers crossing the Gulf of Aden.
The U.N. says the boat was carrying 125 people in all. Most of them were Ethiopians, along with ten Somalis and five crew members.
Forty-three Ethiopians and two crew members have been detained by Yemeni authorities.
Thousands of Somalis and Ethiopians try to reach Yemen each year in a bid to escape their home countries' poverty.