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Sana'a: Four African migrants drowned on Friday after two boats carrying 260 migrants dropped them at sea off the Yemeni eastern coastal region of Abyan, an official said.
The remaining 254 Africans, mainly Somalis, survived and made their way to the Ahwar reception centre, the official told Gulf News on condition of anonymity.
The official, who spoke by telephone from the scene in Ahwar, denied reports that about 70 people drowned.
The migrants, including women and children, were received at a reception centre in Ahraw which is supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The four migrants who died couldn't swim.
Smugglers usually do not come close to the shore because they fear being caught by Yemeni coastguards. They leave the migrants some way out at sea to make their own way to the shore, said the source.
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