At least 139 migrants die after overcrowded boat capsizes off Djibouti, IOM says

At least 139 migrants, including children, died after an overcrowded boat capsized off Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration said on Sunday. Associated Press reported that the vessel carried more than 300 people and sank close to shore after leaving the Obock area for Yemen on the evening of 8 October.

The IOM said 84 people remained missing and more than 80 survivors had been rescued. Those brought ashore were Ethiopian nationals receiving medical and psychological support. Search operations continued, and officials warned that the toll could rise as bodies were recovered and burials carried out by survivors were verified.

An earlier Reuters report cited a provisional toll of 109 deaths and more than 116 missing. The later AP figure reflected an updated IOM count; both reports relied on the same UN agency as authorities reconciled incomplete records. Some victims were buried without identification, complicating the final accounting.

The route across the Gulf of Aden is used by people from the Horn of Africa seeking work in Gulf states despite conflict in Yemen and the danger of overloaded boats. The disaster is among the deadliest recorded on that corridor and underscores the shortage of safe, legal migration routes.