SANAA - The bodies of 56 illegal immigrants, mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia, have been found on the south coast of Yemen, the official SABA news agency reported on Tuesday.

It said the bodies of the shipwreck victims, washed up overnight on Sunday, had been retrieved by members of the Doctors Without Borders aid organisation.

According to other migrants who reached Yemen safely, 40 women and five children, including an eight-month-old baby, were among 148 illegal immigrants on the vessel which capsized off Yemen during the night.

Many of the passengers, who were being beaten to force them to jump into the water and lighten the load, rushed to one side in an effort to escape, capsizing the vessel, they said.

At the end of November, at least 30 African migrants, including seven women, drowned after their boat overturned while trying to cross the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen.

The Yemeni defence ministry said 41 others were rescued and 69 were listed as missing.

Another 64 African migrants drowned on November 22 while trying to cross, while 40 more drowned early in November after being thrown overboard by people traffickers.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than 20,000 people have made the perilous crossing this year, desperate to flee conflict and persecution in their home regions in Africa.

The crossing takes two days at best and is made especially dangerous by shark-infested waters, strong currents and inhumane conditions on poorly maintained vessels open to the elements