At least 139 people, including 15 children, have died after a boat carrying more than 300 migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti while attempting to reach Yemen, the United Nations migration agency said on Sunday.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the vessel, carrying 305 people, sank near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, during the night of October 8–9.
At least 82 people survived, all Ethiopian nationals, while another 84 remain missing as search and recovery operations continue.
Among the confirmed dead were nine girls and six boys, according to the agency.
Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti, said survivors described the vessel beginning to sink from the stern shortly after they boarded.
Rescue teams continued searching the coastline, where abandoned shoes and other personal belongings believed to belong to passengers were discovered.
Djiboutian authorities and IOM personnel have been providing medical assistance, emergency supplies and support to survivors, including help contacting relatives.
The exact circumstances of the sinking remain under investigation, although the large number of passengers aboard the vessel has raised concerns about overcrowding and maritime safety.
The disaster comes amid continued migration from Ethiopia and other parts of the Horn of Africa towards Yemen, despite the country’s prolonged conflict and growing instability across the region.
One survivor reportedly came from Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, where renewed fighting between federal forces and regional armed groups has heightened insecurity.
Djibouti remains a major transit point along the so-called Eastern Route, which connects the Horn of Africa with the Arabian Peninsula through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
According to the IOM, more than 20,000 movements from Ethiopia into Djibouti were recorded between September 10 and early October, underscoring the scale of migration through the country.
More than 900 migrants died or went missing along the Eastern Route in 2025, while another shipwreck off Djibouti in March 2026 left nine people dead and 45 missing.
The latest disaster ranks among the deadliest reported along the route in recent years, with authorities warning that the number of fatalities could rise as efforts to locate the missing continue.
