Around 80 illegal immigrants, mostly from Ethiopia, have drowned off the Yemeni coast, after their boats capsized in the Gulf of Aden.

The accident is said to have been caused by high winds and strong tides.

Yemen's coast guard launched a search and rescue operation, and have so far found two bodies.

The precise timing of the accident remains unclear. Last April, the UN High Commission for Refugees warned that escalating numbers of African refugees were placing an increasingly heavy burden on Yemen's limited resources.