At Least 139 Migrants Die, 84 Missing After Boat Capsizes Off Djibouti on Route to Yemen

At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, died and 84 remained missing after a boat carrying 305 people capsized off Djibouti while heading toward Yemen. The International Organization for Migration reported the revised toll on Sunday, October 11, after recovery teams found additional bodies. The vessel went down near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, during the night of October 8-9.

IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti Alexandre Coissac called the loss devastating. He said teams were on the ground with local authorities providing emergency assistance. Survivors received medical care, psychosocial support, food, shelter and help contacting relatives at the Migrant Response Centre in Obock. Djiboutian authorities continued search and recovery operations and arranged burials.

Around 82 people survived. All were Ethiopian nationals. Among the 109 bodies recovered earlier, IOM counted 52 men, 42 women and 15 children (nine girls and six boys). The death toll rose to 139 after 30 more bodies were found. Coissac noted that some bodies buried by migrants themselves would be added to the official count only after verification by authorities.

The boat was overcrowded. Personal items, including shoes, washed up on beaches near the site. IOM workers documented the scene. The Eastern Route from the Horn of Africa across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen is one of the busiest and most dangerous migrant corridors. Tens of thousands attempt the crossing each year seeking work in Gulf countries. Many come from Ethiopia and neighbouring states.

IOM Director General Amy Pope said no one boards such a boat unless they believe there is no other safe way. She called for safe and legal pathways and asked governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down. The agency has recorded multiple deadly incidents on this route in recent years. The October 8-9 wreck ranks among the deadliest.

Local authorities provided medical care to survivors and coordinated with IOM. Ethiopian officials did not immediately comment on the nationalities of the dead and missing. The survivors were all Ethiopian. The route remains active despite the risks of rough seas, overloaded vessels and limited rescue capacity in the area.

Search efforts continued into the weekend. The official count of 139 dead covers only those buried by Djiboutian authorities. Additional unrecovered bodies could raise the total. Families of the missing waited for news. IOM teams assisted 64 survivors at the Obock centre with healthcare, temporary shelter, food and family contact restoration.

Each year large numbers of migrants transit Djibouti. IOM data showed more than 178,000 arrivals from Ethiopia between January and October this year. The crossing to Yemen is short in distance but hazardous. Capsizes often occur at night when vessels are heavily loaded. Survivors typically report sudden shifts in weather or structural failure of the boat.

The incident adds to the cumulative toll on the Eastern Route. Previous wrecks have killed dozens or hundreds in single events. Humanitarian groups have long argued that the absence of legal labour channels forces people onto these vessels. For the families in Ethiopia and elsewhere, the immediate task is identification and burial. For the survivors, recovery begins in Obock with basic supplies and the chance to contact relatives who still do not know their fate.