46 Ethiopians have drowned and 16 are missing after a human smuggler's boat carrying at least 100 refugees capsized as it approached Yemen.

The vessel left the port of Bossasso in Somalia on Tuesday with 83 men and 17 women on board.

The International Organisation for Migration director of operations and emergencies, Mohammad Abdiker, said the Gulf of Aden's migration tragedy was shameful.

“They are treated appallingly and go through horrendous conditions. This has to end," he said.