Dozens of Ethiopians and Somalis have drowned or gone missing after their boat capsized off Somalia on Thursday in the worst such disaster in the area in almost two years, reports Al Jazeera.

According to the UN the incident represents the biggest loss of life in the Gulf of Aden since February 2011 when 57 Somali refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa drowned while attempting to reach Yemen.

So far twenty-three bodies have been recovered. The 32 remaining passengers are presumed to have drowned. At least five people survived the accident. The boat was believed to be overcrowded and capsized just 15 minutes after leaving the port of Bosasso. Most of the men were headed to Oman and Yemen to work in the frankincense trade.