139 migrants, including children, die after boat capsizes off Djibouti

• At least 139 migrants, including children, die after a boat carrying 305 people capsizes off Djibouti.

• At least 84 remain missing as rescue operations continue; more than 80 Ethiopian nationals survive.

• Over 900 migrants died or went missing on the route last year, according to the IOM.

At least 139 people, including children, have died after a boat carrying 305 migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti in east Africa, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday, 11 October.

At least 84 people remained missing, making it one of the deadliest shipwrecks on the perilous migration route linking the Horn of Africa with the Arabian Peninsula. More than 80 people survived, all of them Ethiopian nationals, the IOM said.

The boat was travelling from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized late on Thursday or early on Friday. Rescue operations were continuing as fears mounted for those still missing.

A video shared by the IOM showed shoes and other personal belongings believed to have belonged to the migrants washed up on a beach, underscoring the scale of the tragedy.

Tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa cross Djibouti and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait towards Yemen and other Gulf countries every year, seeking work, safety and better economic prospects, the IOM said.

The journey remains dangerous, with overcrowded boats and treacherous sea conditions exposing migrants to the risk of drowning. The flow has continued despite renewed fighting in Yemen, across the strait from Djibouti.

“This is a devastating loss of life,” said Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti. He said the disaster highlighted the dangers faced by migrants using the route in search of economic opportunities.

IOM director general Amy Pope urged governments and donors to expand safe and legal migration options, warning against treating such deaths as routine.

“No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way,” Pope said. “We cannot keep treating these deaths as normal. Safe and legal pathways save lives. I am asking governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down.”

According to the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, more than 900 migrants died or went missing along the route last year, highlighting the continuing toll of one of the region’s most dangerous migration corridors.

With AP/PTI inputs