At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, died and 84 remain missing after an overcrowded boat capsized off Djibouti while en route to Yemen, the International Organization for Migration said Sunday. The vessel, carrying 305 people—primarily Ethiopian nationals—sank near Guhere, north of Obock, late on Oct. 8 or early Oct. 9, according to survivors and the IOM .
Alexandre Coissac, IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, said the boat capsized due to overcrowding and that local authorities were overwhelmed by the number of bodies washing ashore. Many victims were buried in unmarked graves, he told the AP, adding, “What is terrible is that they were buried with no names, in a common grave, like in a war situation” . Over 80 survivors, all Ethiopians, received medical and psychological support at an IOM center in Obock, where some learned of family members’ deaths.
The IOM warned the death toll could rise as search efforts continue. The route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is one of the world’s deadliest, with more than 900 fatalities or disappearances recorded in 2025 alone . Tens of thousands of migrants use this path annually, seeking work in Gulf nations despite ongoing conflict in Yemen.
