By Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN
(CNN) — Scores of foreign nationals who traveled to a remote Indian Ocean island seeking adventure have become stranded there as simmering tensions between warring Yemeni parties and their backers disrupt travel.
European and American tourists who spoke to CNN said that up to “hundreds” are stuck on the Yemeni island of Socotra, which sits between the Gulf of Aden, the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, following a state of emergency that led to the closure of all ports of entry.
While CNN cannot independently verify how many tourists are stranded on Socotra Island, it understands them to number scores at least.
Known for its unique biodiversity, the island is a classified UNESCO World Heritage Site and has become a regional hub for adventure tourism, especially among expats flying from the nearby United Arab Emirates. Visitors can expect to see dramatic cliffs, pristine white sand beaches and exotic flora like the dragon’s blood tree.
Its distance from the mainland has shielded Socotra from the worst of Yemen’s long-running conflict. But regional tensions that last week culminated in Saudi strikes on a UAE-linked shipment in Yemen have now had an impact.
Last week, the United States Department of State said it had received reports of “closures, cancelations and redirected flights on commercial airline travel to and from the island of Socotra” to nearby airports.
The State Department advised against all travel to Yemen, adding that “the US government is unable to provide emergency or routine consular services to US citizens in Yemen, including Socotra.”
‘There’s hundreds of them’
One American citizen in Socotra, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, said that while tourists are physically safe, they are unsure when they might be able to return home.
“There’s a lot (of tourists),” the American tourist said, adding that his group had started making contact with others in neighboring camp sites.
“There’s all sorts of Westerners here. There’s hundreds of them.”
Rocky Road Travel, a Berlin-based tourism agency with at least 14 people stuck in Socotra, said it had contacted US embassies in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, as well as multiple European missions in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, for assistance.
Tourists on the island told CNN that embassies have been able to provide little help so far. The ongoing conflict means few Western nations have a diplomatic presence in Yemen, with most handling its concerns from nearby capitals.
CNN has reached out to the UAE and Saudi Arabian foreign ministries, as well as the US embassy in Riyadh, under which Yemen falls, for comment.
Gerrit van Wijngaarden, a Dutch-Polish national who is in Socotra with his wife, their three children and a grandchild, had planned to stay on the island for a week, but has been there for 11 days, he said.
“A lot of planes came, but no planes are leaving anymore. There are a lot of people on this island at the moment,” he told CNN, adding that embassies “unfortunately they cannot do anything because they don’t have any offices in Yemen.”
Van Wijngaarden said there are up to 100 Polish tourists on the island. The Polish embassy in Saudi Arabia, which handles the concerns of Polish citizens in Yemen, has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment.
Amid flight cancellations, some tourists have been advised to take commercial ships from the island to Oman, and then fly back to Europe or the US, Van Wijngaarden said, adding that he himself has not made any arrangements to travel by boat.
A country plunging into crisis
Socotra island has been controlled by Yemen’