A ship carrying 175 passengers from Eritrea in northeastern Africa sank Monday in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, killing 80 people, Eritrean radio reported.

The report, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corp., said 44 people survived and another 51 were missing. The ship was “sailing to Yemen illegally,” the radio report said. It didn’t elaborate.

Yemen and Eritrea are on the opposite coasts of the Red Sea, separated by about 200 miles.

Most of the passengers were Eritreans, and some Sudanese and Ethiopians also were aboard, the report said.