DJIBOUTI — At least 139 migrants are dead and 84 remain missing after a crowded boat bound for Yemen capsized off Djibouti during the night of October 8–9. The International Organization for Migration calls it one of the deadliest shipwrecks ever recorded on the Eastern Route, the migration corridor linking the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula.
The death toll has climbed steadily as bodies were recovered — from 109 initially to at least 139 — and it could still rise. Here is what is known about the disaster, why the route persists despite the danger, and what remains unclear.
Why it matters
This is the worst single loss of life on the Eastern Route in recent memory, according to the IOM. It happened in a country the agency described just days earlier as facing “overlapping emergencies” — migrants flowing in both directions across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The tragedy also exposes an uncomfortable paradox: the movement toward Yemen has not slowed even though the country on the far side of the strait has returned to full-scale fighting. For many migrants, the calculation is that the sea crossing is still safer — or at least more passable — than the alternatives.
What we know
- 305 people were aboard, survivors told the IOM. The boat capsized near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, in the early hours of Friday, October 9.
- At least 139 people died, according to the IOM, citing recovered bodies. The agency said at least 15 of the dead were children. The count rose from an initial report of 109 as 30 more bodies were recovered.
- About 82 people survived — all of them Ethiopian nationals, according to the IOM. Personal belongings, including shoes, were photographed scattered on a beach by the agency’s teams.
- 84 people are still missing, and search and rescue operations are continuing off the Djibouti coast. The toll is provisional.
- The survivors’ nationalities are the only ones established. The IOM has not confirmed the nationalities of the dead and missing.
- Some bodies buried by fellow migrants have not been counted in the official totals, IOM officials told the Associated Press, pending verification — so the real toll could already be higher than 139.
- The route is deadlier than it looks on any map. More than 900 migrants died or went missing on the Eastern Route in 2025 alone, according to the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project. Tens of thousands cross every year, the agency said.
- The crossing goes both ways. Since September 10, the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix has recorded more than 20,000 movements into Djibouti from Ethiopia, while over the same period more than 3,700 refugees arrived from Yemen and 539 Ethiopian migrants returned from Yemen.
What we still don’t know
- What caused the boat to go down. The IOM said the vessel appeared to have sunk soon after departure, but the precise sequence of events — overloading, weather, engine failure, or something else — is still under investigation.
- Who operated the vessel. No information has been released about the boat’s owner, crew, or whether smugglers face arrest.
- The final passenger count. The 305 figure comes from survivor accounts, not a manifest; it could change as the missing are accounted for.
- Whether anyone else will be held responsible. IOM Director General Amy Pope has urged governments and donors to act, saying “safe and legal pathways save lives,” but no concrete policy response has been announced.
What’s next
Search and recovery operations continue off Obock, and the IOM is assisting survivors at its Obock Migrant Response Centre with emergency health care, food, shelter, and psychosocial support. Survivors are deeply distressed, IOM Djibouti chief Alexandre Coissac said, with some uncertain about the fate of relatives.
The disaster is likely to intensify scrutiny of the Eastern Route — and of the fact that migrants keep boarding these boats even with war raging on the far side. “No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way,” Pope said. Whether the international response moves beyond condolences remains the open question.
Timeline
- Oct. 6: IOM Djibouti chief Alexandre Coissac tells journalists in Geneva the country faces “overlapping emergencies” as migrants move in both directions across the strait; more than 3,000 migrants seen stranded along Djibouti routes in late September.
- Oct. 8, night – Oct. 9, early hours: A boat carrying 305 people leaves the Obock coast for Yemen and capsizes near Guhere, according to survivor accounts relayed by the IOM.
- Oct. 11 (morning): The IOM reports 109 dead, including 15 children, and 116 missing, citing its latest accounting. Reuters publishes the agency’s figures.
- Oct. 11 (later): The toll rises to at least 139 dead and 84 missing after 30 more bodies are recovered; search and rescue continue.
Read the original Zark News report: At Least 139 Migrants Dead, 84 Missing After Boat Capsizes Off Djibouti.
Sources: International Organization for Migration statements and briefings; UN News; reporting by The Associated Press and Reuters.
