139 migrants killed in shipwreck off Djibouti
An overcrowded vessel carrying 305 people, mostly Ethiopian migrants, capsized off Djibouti's coast during the night of 8-9 October while attempting to cross to Yemen. The International Organization for Migration reported on 11 October that at least 139 people died, including 15 children, with 84 others still missing and 82 survivors rescued. The tragedy highlights the dangers faced by migrants on this migration corridor despite the rising death toll.
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One of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in recent years occurred off the coast of Djibouti near the town of Obock when an overcrowded boat carrying 305 people, most of them Ethiopian migrants, capsized while attempting the dangerous crossing to Yemen. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on 11 October that at least 139 people had died, including 15 children, with 84 others still missing. The death toll was revised upward as more bodies were recovered. Eighty-two people, all Ethiopian nationals, survived the disaster. According to Alexandre Coissac, the IOM's chief of mission in Djibouti, survivors reported that the boat began to sink as soon as they boarded it. He described the wreck as 'a devastating loss of life.' IOM teams have been working with Djiboutian authorities to provide emergency assistance to survivors. Coissac emphasized that this tragedy demonstrates the serious risks faced by migrants attempting to cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait toward Yemen and onward to Gulf states seeking economic opportunities. Poverty, insecurity and the effects of climate change continue to drive large numbers of people along this perilous migration corridor, despite the increasing death toll.
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