At least 139 migrants dead, including 15 children, after boat capsizes off Djibouti – UN

At least 139 migrants dead, including 15 children, after boat capsizes off Djibouti – UN

At least 139 migrants have died, including 15 children, and 84 others are missing after a boat capsized off Djibouti while heading to Yemen, the UN migration agency said.

The vessel was carrying 305 people, mostly Ethiopians, when it overturned near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, on the night of October 8 into October 9. About 82 people survived, all Ethiopian nationals.

The International Organisation for Migration initially reported 109 dead, but raised the toll to 139 on Sunday after 30 more bodies were recovered. The earlier count included 52 men, 42 women and 15 children.

Survivors told IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti, Alexandre Coissac, that the boat started to sink backwards as soon as they boarded. He described it as a devastating loss of life.

Coissac said IOM teams are on the ground with Djiboutian authorities providing emergency assistance, medical care and burials, while search and rescue operations continue. The agency said it is assisting 64 survivors at its Migrant Response Centre in Obock.

He added that the tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced along this corridor, as tens of thousands from the Horn of Africa cross the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to Yemen each year hoping to reach Gulf countries for work, driven by poverty, insecurity and climate change.