Seven Ethiopian migrants died of hunger and thirst after their boat's engine failed in the Red Sea, the United Nations migration agency said Wednesday.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the boat, carrying 250 people -- among them 82 children -- from Somalia to Yemen, arrived on Tuesday after a gruelling week-long journey.

"The boat is reported to have experienced engine failure 100 nautical miles into its journey," the IOM said in a statement.

"What should have been a 24-hour journey took a week, relying on wind and paddling," it added.

"Seven of the migrants died of hunger and thirst en route."

It comes just days after a shipwreck off Yemen that killed more than 90 migrants, most of them Ethiopians.

Days afterwards, Ethiopian officials urged the country's citizens to "avoid irregular routes".

The Red Sea is among the deadliest routes for migrants in the world, claiming at least 558 lives in 2024, according to the IOM.

Many flee poverty and conflict in Ethiopia in search of opportunities in wealthy Gulf countries, using war-torn Yemen as a transit point.

Wednesday's group was met by an IOM medical team in Yemen. Some were transferred to a health clinic and later discharged in a stable condition.

"These people have been through a week of hell on the high seas. They have been exploited, terrified and traumatised," said Abdusattor Esoev, the IOM's chief of mission in Yemen.