At least 139 migrants dead, 84 missing after boat capsizes off Djibouti

Why it matters

An overcrowded boat carrying about 305 people capsized near Guhere, north of Obock in northeastern Djibouti, during the night of Oct 8-9, en route to Yemen. The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) initially reported 109 deaths and 116 missing on Sunday (Oct 11); after more bodies were recovered, it updated the toll to at least 139 dead and 84 missing. The victims include 15 children. More than 80 people survived, all Ethiopian nationals.

“The boat started to sink backwards as soon as they got in it,” survivors told IOM chief of mission in Djibouti Alexandre Coissac, who called it a “devastating loss of life.” IOM teams are on the ground assisting the emergency response and sheltering 64 survivors at a migrant centre in Obock; Djiboutian authorities continue search and rescue, providing medical care to survivors and arranging burials. About 150 of those aboard had previously been turned back from Yemen and attempted the crossing again.

The Horn of Africa–Yemen crossing via the Bab al-Mandeb strait is one of the main routes for migrants seeking work in Gulf states, and it is extremely dangerous. The IOM says poverty, insecurity and climate change drive more people to risk the journey; over 20,000 incoming movements from Ethiopia to Djibouti have been recorded since Sept 10. Yemen is meanwhile seeing its most serious escalation of fighting since the 2022 truce, with displacement surging from 76,000 in mid-September to 200,000.

Sources: Reuters (via TBS News), Associated Press, Baird Maritime, Oct 11-12, 2026; IOM statement.