Djibouti – At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, have died after a boat carrying more than 300 people capsized off the coast of Djibouti while travelling towards Yemen, with dozens more still missing, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The vessel, which was carrying 305 people, overturned near Guhere, north of Obock, a port town in Djibouti, during the night of October 8 to 9. The IOM reported the deaths on Sunday, October 11, citing accounts from survivors.
Around 82 people survived the disaster, while approximately 84 others remained missing, according to the agency.
Photographs released by the UN migration agency showed worn sandals and sneakers washed ashore, offering a glimpse of the scale of the tragedy.
“Our teams are on the ground alongside local authorities to provide emergency assistance,” said IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti Alexandre Coissac.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities,” Coissac said.
Djiboutian authorities continued search and rescue operations following the capsizing. Local officials were also providing medical assistance to survivors and arranging burials for those who died, the IOM said.
The Djiboutian government had not immediately responded to requests for comment, while a spokesperson for the Ethiopian government was also unavailable for comment.
Migrants continue dangerous journey to the Gulf
The migrants were travelling towards Yemen in the hope of eventually reaching wealthier Gulf countries in search of employment and better living conditions.
Their journey comes as Yemen faces renewed fighting between government forces backed by Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi movement. The latest escalation represents the most serious intensification of the conflict since a United Nations-brokered truce in 2022.
Despite the insecurity, migrants continue to use Yemen as a transit point towards the Gulf, even as thousands of Yemenis flee the country because of the fighting.
“Despite the violence in Yemen, migrants are still making the perilous journeys hoping to make it to the Gulf countries,” the IOM statement said.
The disaster has drawn attention to the dangers along the so-called Eastern Route, which connects the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula through Djibouti and Yemen.
For years, the route has been used by migrants, particularly Ethiopians, seeking work and improved economic prospects in Gulf states.
An IOM official told Reuters that the agency had documented substantial migrant movement through Djibouti along the Eastern Route for several years.
“People continue to use the route amid changing conditions in Ethiopia and Yemen, although the volume and direction of movement can shift over time,” the official said.
Conflict and drought drive migration
The deadly crossing comes amid growing insecurity in Ethiopia, where fighting has intensified since September in what has become the most significant escalation of violence since the 2020 to 2022 Tigray war.
Ethiopian migrants interviewed for the IOM’s latest situation report on Djibouti, covering September 20 to September 30, said they had left their country because of difficult living conditions, including the effects of drought.
“Some migrants also reported that they were fleeing conflict and forced recruitment by armed forces,” the report said.
Residents of Tigray, where fighting erupted on September 23, told Reuters they had witnessed Tigrayan rebels forcibly recruiting young men into their defence forces. The rebels have denied carrying out forced recruitment.
The renewed conflict has fuelled fears that Ethiopia could descend into another full-scale war. Relations between Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea have also deteriorated over allegations that Eritrea is supporting a rebel alliance seeking to overthrow the Ethiopian government. Eritrea has denied backing the alliance.
These developments have added to the pressures facing communities in the Horn of Africa, where conflict, environmental challenges and limited economic opportunities continue to drive people towards dangerous migration routes.
Eastern Route claims hundreds of lives
The Eastern Route exposes migrants to multiple dangers, including shipwrecks, human trafficking and arbitrary arrests after they reach land.
According to the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, more than 900 migrants died or went missing along the route in 2025, as the number of people undertaking the journey increased by 18%.
The latest disaster adds to the mounting toll of people attempting to cross the sea between the Horn of Africa and Yemen.
The humanitarian situation in Yemen has also deteriorated sharply as fighting displaces civilians and forces more people to seek safety across borders.
The IOM described the crisis caused by the renewed fighting in Yemen as alarming, reporting that displacement figures had risen from 76,000 in mid-September to 200,000, according to data released by the agency last week.
More than 3,700 people had also fled Yemen by sea to Djibouti as of last week, the agency said.
The movement of people in both directions illustrates the growing humanitarian pressures across the region, where migrants from Ethiopia and other parts of the Horn of Africa continue travelling towards Yemen while people already living there attempt to escape the conflict.
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