109 Migrants Dead and Dozens Missing After Boat Capsizes

An overcrowded vessel carrying hundreds of migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti, leaving at least 109 dead and dozens missing as rescue efforts continue.

139 Dead and Dozens Missing After Boat Capsizes Off Djibouti

The death toll from an overcrowded migrant vessel that capsized off the coast of Djibouti has climbed to at least 139, including 15 children, after rescue teams recovered 30 additional bodies. The UN migration office confirmed the upward revision on Sunday, shifting the official count from an earlier total of 109 dead.

What was promised as a passage to safety and employment in the Gulf ended in disaster when the vessel sank on Thursday night near the port town of Obock. The boat had been carrying 305 people aboard and was travelling from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized. Around 82 people were rescued, with all identified survivors being Ethiopian nationals.

That leaves rescue coordinators and relief teams facing an acute verification challenge as they attempt to reconcile casualty counts. While the International Organization for Migration has aligned its official figure with the higher toll of 139 dead following the latest recovery operation, earlier reporting from outlets such as Euronews had similarly pointed to the higher death toll while varying on missing persons and passenger counts. By contrast, initial IOM statements and outlets including Al Jazeera, The Independent, and Daily Sabah had cited a confirmed toll of 109 dead—including 52 men, 42 women, and 15 children comprising nine girls and six boys—with over 116 people remaining missing.

Video: 109 Migrants Dead After Boat Capsizes Off Djibouti Coast — The News Drop (YouTube)

Who is affected by the disaster?

The human toll of the shipwreck is concentrated among vulnerable families and job seekers fleeing poverty and climate shocks in the Horn of Africa. The IOM stated that tens of thousands of migrants make the journey annually, hoping to traverse Yemen and reach affluent Gulf nations. The demographic breakdown of the recovered dead shows the heavy cost borne by women and children attempting the sea crossing.

52 adult men among the recovered dead, according to IOM figures.
42 adult women who perished during the capsizing.
15 children, including 9 girls and 6 boys, killed in the disaster.
Around 82 Ethiopian survivors, of whom 64 are receiving assistance at the Obock Migrant Response Centre.
Dozens of individuals listed as missing, with search and rescue operations ongoing.

That leaves the humanitarian response apparatus in Obock stretched thin, balancing emergency medical care, psychosocial support, and the arrangement of dignified burials alongside the search for survivors. IOM's Djibouti mission chief Alexandre Coissac addressed the catastrophe in a statement.

This is a devastating loss of life. Our thoughts are with the survivors and the families who have lost loved ones or remain without news of their relatives.
Alexandre Coissac, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti

Coissac called the tragedy a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities.

What drove the migrants to cross a war zone?

The decision to risk the Bab el-Mandeb Strait comes in defiance of severe, well-documented hazards on both land and sea. Yemen remains engulfed in a devastating civil war that has lasted more than a decade, involving Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi fighters, alongside wider regional conflicts. Furthermore, the IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix observed more than 20,000 incoming movements from Ethiopia to Djibouti since September 10, fueled by poverty, insecurity, and climate change impacts. Internal violence also escalated in Ethiopia last month.

That highlights the grim calculus facing migrants: the known perils of crossing an active conflict zone and a dangerous maritime strait are routinely judged preferable to the compounding crises left behind.

Metric	IOM / Updated Reports	Euronews Report
Confirmed Dead	139	139
Missing Persons	Dozens missing	84
Total Passengers	305	305
Survivors	Around 82	Not specified

That numerical divergence reflects the chaotic reality of maritime disasters, where initial tallies shift rapidly as recovery teams comb coastal waters.

What are the risks beyond the sea crossing?

Surviving the treacherous waterway offers no guarantee of safety. Migrants who successfully land in Yemen encounter severe hazards. At the same time, displacement dynamics are shifting in both directions across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The UN refugee agency noted last month that the conflict in Yemen has displaced more than 130,000 people across the country, with thousands of Yemenis fleeing to Djibouti to escape the civil war.

The route's lethality is well established. The IOM recorded that more than 900 migrants died or went missing along this same corridor in 2025, even as the volume of people attempting the journey increased by 18%. An earlier shipwreck in March 2026 resulted in nine deaths and 45 missing persons.

The agency added that it was working in close collaboration with local authorities to help migrants and prevent deaths at sea and on land.

That leaves international organizations appealing for heightened donor backing to sustain search operations and basic aid in Obock as migration pressures persist.

What comes next for search and rescue efforts?

Djiboutian authorities and IOM teams are maintaining active search operations along the coast near Obock to locate the individuals still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, local officials are arranging burials for those who have died while providing medical care, food assistance, shelter, and support to restore contact with their families for the survivors housed at the Obock Migrant Response Centre. Observers should watch for updated casualty verifications from UN agencies as recovery efforts proceed along the Bab el-Mandeb corridor.