The radio operator and local journalists said at least 86 people were dead but it was not clear how they died. The crew's whereabouts were not known, according to Issa. The information could not immediately be confirmed. Hundreds of people have been trying to reach Yemen in sail-powered dhows or cargo boats in search of work since some Persian Gulf countries began banning livestock from Somalia. The ban followed an outbreak of Rift Valley fever, a mosquito-borne virus transmitted from livestock to humans, in Saudi Arabia.
Livestock is Somalia's main export to Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in May 1991, four months after the ouster of Somalia's President Mohamed Siad Barre and the collapse of the central government. Puntland declared autonomy in July 1998. Neither region is internationally recognized. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.