Bound for Work in the Gulf, 109 Dead Off Djibouti

At least 109 people died and more than 116 remain missing after a migrant boat capsized off Djibouti, the UN migration agency said, as authorities continued searching for survivors. ^[2]

The boat was travelling toward Yemen when it went down during the night of October 8-9 near Guhere, north of the coastal town of Obock, according to survivors' accounts relayed by the International Organization for Migration, or IOM. Its October 11 statement put the number of survivors at more than 80. ^[2]

Among the dead were 52 men, 42 women and 15 children. The children included nine girls and six boys. All those who survived were Ethiopian nationals, IOM said. ^[2]

The sinking adds to repeated losses on a route used by people from the Horn of Africa hoping to reach Gulf countries through Yemen. More than 900 migrants died or went missing along the route in 2025, according to IOM. The sea crossing is only one stage of a journey that also exposes migrants to violence, detention and trafficking. ^[2]

Alexandre Coissac, IOM's chief of mission in Djibouti, called the sinking "a devastating loss of life" and said the agency's teams were working alongside local authorities to provide emergency assistance. ^[2]

A search at sea, care on shore

Djiboutian authorities were continuing search-and-rescue operations when IOM issued its statement on October 11. The missing-person count may change as that work continues. ^[2]

On shore, IOM said it was assisting 64 survivors at its Obock Migrant Response Centre. The support included healthcare, psychosocial and protection services, shelter, food and help contacting their families. ^[2]

The total aboard remains unresolved. IOM's statement gives 305, while two other accounts citing the agency give about 350. The sources also do not establish what caused the boat to capsize or describe the care being provided to survivors beyond the 64 at the Obock centre. ^{[1] [2] [4]}

A crossing with danger on both shores

The Bab al-Mandab Strait separates Djibouti and Yemen at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. For migrants seeking work or a future in Gulf countries, reaching Yemen means completing the sea leg of a much longer journey.

Tens of thousands of people from the Horn of Africa travel through Djibouti each year to attempt that crossing, according to IOM. The agency identifies poverty, insecurity and the effects of climate change among the pressures driving them to leave. ^{[2] [5]}

The destination offers no guarantee of safety. IOM says migrants who reach Yemen face violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, exploitation and trafficking. Surviving a boat journey can leave them exposed to a different set of dangers on land. ^{[2] [5]}

Those risks help explain why the death toll at sea captures only part of the route's human cost. The figures count people lost during the journey, while IOM's warnings describe threats that continue after arrival. A rescue from the water ends one emergency, not necessarily the journey's dangers.

The flow toward Djibouti has also been substantial. On October 6, two days before the night of the sinking, IOM said it had recorded more than 20,000 journeys from Ethiopia into Djibouti since September 10. Those were movements into Djibouti, not a count of people boarding boats for Yemen. ^{[2] [3]}

The agency has described migrants stranded in Djibouti with urgent needs, adding pressure to local resources. The country is therefore both a point of departure and a place where people can become stuck before the crossing begins. ^[3]

Repeated losses, rising journeys

The October sinking follows another deadly wreck off Djibouti in March 2026. That disaster killed at least nine people and left 45 missing. Survivors believed that boat had carried more than 300 people, IOM said at the time. ^[5]

Both wrecks involved vessels carrying hundreds of people, according to the accounts IOM gathered. ^{[2] [5]}

The losses come amid growing use of the route. IOM's October statement said the number of people undertaking the journey increased by 18 per cent in 2025, the year in which it recorded more than 900 dead or missing. ^[2]

IOM is calling for more support for Djibouti's search-and-rescue operations and for the assistance needed to keep survivors alive and sheltered. It is also seeking expanded safe migration pathways, addressing the choices available to people before they board a boat. ^[2]

For now, the immediate work remains split between the coast and the response centre: searching for those still missing and caring for those who made it ashore. Djiboutian authorities are continuing the search. ^[2]