At Least 139 Migrants Die After Boat Capsizes Off Djibouti En Route to Yemen

At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, died and 84 remain missing after an overcrowded boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti while heading toward Yemen, the International Organization for Migration said. The vessel was carrying 305 people, most of them Ethiopian, when it sank near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, on the night of 8-9 October.

About 82 people survived, all Ethiopian nationals. The IOM revised its earlier count of 109 dead after additional bodies were recovered. Among the first 109 bodies recovered were 52 men, 42 women and 15 children (nine girls and six boys). Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti, said survivors told him the boat began to sink backwards almost as soon as they boarded it. He described the overcrowding as the main cause and called the loss of life devastating.

The IOM is providing healthcare, psychosocial support, food and shelter to 64 survivors at its migrant response centre in Obock. Djiboutian authorities continue search-and-rescue operations and are arranging burials. Coissac said local officials were overwhelmed by the number of bodies that reached the shore at once. Some victims were buried in a common grave without identification.

The Eastern Route from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula is one of the world’s busiest and most dangerous migration corridors. Tens of thousands of people, mainly from Ethiopia and Somalia, attempt the crossing each year in search of work in Gulf countries. Many travel on small, overcrowded boats operated by smugglers across the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. Capsizings, extreme heat and other hazards regularly produce fatalities.

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 for governments and donors to act before the next vessel sinks. The agency’s Displacement Tracking Matrix has recorded more than 20,000 movements from Ethiopia toward Djibouti since early September.

The death toll includes only those whose bodies were recovered and buried by Djiboutian authorities. Additional bodies buried by other migrants may raise the official count once they are verified. Search operations continue for the missing. The incident ranks among the deadliest recorded on the Eastern Route in recent years.

Survivors are receiving assistance while families of the missing wait for news. The combination of high passenger numbers, poor vessel condition and the short distance to shore meant that many who entered the water did not reach safety. The IOM and local authorities are continuing recovery work and support for those who lived.