Djibouti Boat Capsize Kills 109 Migrants, 116 Missing

At least 109 migrants, including 15 children, have died and about 116 others are missing after a boat carrying 350 people capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said.

The incident occurred overnight between October 8 and 9, north of the coastal town of Obock, as the vessel travelled from Djibouti towards Yemen, according to survivors cited by the UN agency.

The IOM said the bodies recovered included 52 men, 42 women and 15 children, comprising nine girls and six boys. More than 80 people survived the disaster, all of them Ethiopian nationals.

Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti, described the incident as a devastating loss of life and expressed sympathy for survivors and families who had lost relatives or were still awaiting news of missing loved ones.

The agency said its teams were working alongside Djiboutian authorities to provide emergency assistance. It was also supporting 64 survivors at a migrant centre in Obock, while search and rescue operations continued amid fears for those still missing.

The disaster highlights the risks faced by migrants travelling across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen in the hope of reaching Gulf countries. The IOM said poverty, insecurity and the growing effects of climate change were among the factors driving people to undertake the dangerous journey despite instability across the Middle East.

The agency said it had detected more than 20,000 crossings from Ethiopia into Djibouti since September 10.

In 2025, more than 900 migrants died or went missing along the sea route to Yemen, while the number attempting the journey increased by 18%, according to the IOM. Another shipwreck in March 2026 left nine people dead and 45 missing.

IOM spokesperson Kennedy Omondi Okoth told AFP that most people attempting the route were from Ethiopia or Somalia, with many becoming stranded in Djibouti.

The agency called on donors and partners to increase support for Djibouti, particularly for search and rescue operations and emergency assistance to migrants.

SOURCE: AFP