At least 139 people, including children, have died after their boat capsized off Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday. Another 84 women, men, and children remain missing. The death toll has risen from an initial 109 after 30 more bodies were recovered, and search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
According to IOM, the vessel was carrying 305 migrants* from Djibouti toward Yemen when it capsized near Guehere, north of Obock, on the night of October 8–9. It marks one of the deadliest shipwrecks recorded on the Eastern Route.
"No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way," said IOM Director General Amy Pope.
"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."
Emergency response and local support
Djiboutian authorities are continuing search and rescue operations as fears grow for those still missing while local authorities are also providing medical care to survivors and arranging dignified burials for those who died.
IOM is assisting many of the survivors at its Obock Migrant Response Centre (MRC), providing healthcare, psychosocial assistance, protection services, temporary shelter, food assistance, and support to restore contact with their families.
“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,” said Alexandre Coissac, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti.
“Our teams are on the ground alongside local authorities to provide emergency assistance. This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities.”
While IOM tracks all individuals on this route under its broad institutional definition of "migrants"—a blanket term the agency applies regardless of whether a person's movement is voluntary or forced—experts emphasize that this corridor is heavily traveled by refugees and asylum seekers fleeing active conflict, violence, and persecution in the Horn of Africa.
The perils of the Eastern Route
Each year, tens of thousands of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa travel through Djibouti and cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen, hoping to reach Gulf countries searching for safety, stability, or employment. Insecurity, poverty, and the growing impacts of climate change drive many to undertake this journey, despite mounting instability across the Middle East.
Despite the escalating violence in Yemen, desperate people are still making the perilous journeys, hoping to make it to the Gulf countries. Since September 10, more than 20,000 incoming movements to Djibouti from Ethiopia have been observed by IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix.
This shipwreck tragedy also unfolds against the backdrop of a deepening crisis in Ethiopia. Since late September, northern Ethiopia has been marred by large-scale fighting—particularly across the Tigray and Amhara regions.
The sea crossing is only one part of the danger. Those who reach Yemen face severe risks of violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, exploitation, and trafficking. At the same time, people are fleeing the fighting within Yemen itself, with about 4,000 Yemenis having reached Djibouti searching for safety by boat since September 2026.
As movements along the Eastern Route continue, people on the move remain exposed to severe risks at every stage of their journey, underscoring that surviving the sea crossing does not necessarily mean reaching safety, particularly amid the ongoing insecurity and humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
With growing needs and limited funding, IOM urges donors and partners to strengthen support for Djibouti’s response—including search and rescue operations and life-saving assistance—while calling for expanded safe pathways to reduce the risks faced by people undertaking these journeys.
*Editorial note
IOM defines a “migrant” as an umbrella term for any person who moves away from their usual place of residence, whether across an international border or within a state, regardless of the person's legal status, whether the movement is voluntary or involuntary, what causes the movement, or how long they stay.
DONARE avoids using "migrant" as a generic term for all persons who leave their usual place of residence, regardless of the reasons, as it is legally and factually inappropriate. People who are refugees or likely to seek asylum should be referred to as such, and the word "migrant" should be avoided as a substitute term for all people who cross borders intending to settle in another country.
Under international law, refugees have certain rights, including the right to seek asylum in another country, the right to protection and assistance, and the right not to be returned to a country where they face persecution or harm. Migrants are only protected by international human rights standards.
Yet, many migrants endure unspeakable hardships and take life-threatening risks to leave their home country and reach a destination country. Some groups of migrants need humanitarian aid and protection, including people who are trying to escape hunger, extreme poverty, or climate disasters, and those who take life-threatening risks to reach a destination country.
The term “mixed movements” describes cross-border population movements that include, for example, refugees fleeing persecution and conflict, victims of human trafficking, stateless persons, and migrants. The term, which is sometimes also labeled "mixed migration," highlights the complexity of human movement and the need to understand and address the various reasons people have for moving from one country to another.