A fishing vessel carrying more than 300 people capsized in the early hours of Friday off Djibouti while en route to Yemen, resulting in at least 139 confirmed deaths—including 15 children—and 84 people still missing as of Sunday, the International Organization for Migration said.
The tragedy unfolded near Guhere, north of Obock. The boat was designed for a fraction of the passengers it carried, according to the IOM.
More than 80 survivors, all Ethiopian nationals, were retrieved and transported to an IOM rescue center in Obock, where they received medical treatment for saltwater inhalation injuries and trauma, along with psychological counseling.
Some victims were buried by fellow migrants in unmarked, communal graves, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti Alexandre Coissac told the Associated Press. The actual death toll may never be fully known, as the confirmed count includes only recovered bodies officially verified by Djibouti authorities. Additional victims buried by survivors will not be counted in official statistics until their remains can be authenticated, Coissac said.
"They all have a mother, a father, and we may never learn what happened," Coissac said.
The route from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula remains one of the world's deadliest migration corridors. Last year alone, more than 900 migrants died or vanished along this same route, according to IOM data.
IOM Director General Amy Pope released a statement following the capsizing.
"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."
Pope called on governments and donors to act to create safe, legal migration pathways.
