Djibouti: Rescuers Search for 116 Migrants Missing After Boat Wreck Off Djibouti

What the report says

Rescuers in Djibouti are searching for 116 migrants still missing after a boat sank off the country’s coast on the night of 8-9 October, according to a UN migration agency cited by Radio France Internationale and distributed by AllAfrica. The International Organization for Migration said at least 109 people died in the disaster, including 15 children, while more than 80 others survived. All of the known survivors were Ethiopian nationals.

The vessel was carrying 305 people from Djibouti toward Yemen when it capsized north of Obock, survivors told the IOM. The agency said its teams were working with Djiboutian authorities to provide emergency assistance, while search-and-rescue efforts continued for those unaccounted for. Among the bodies recovered were men, women and children, underscoring the scale of the loss.

The incident highlights the risky sea crossing across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a route used by migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking work or passage onward to Gulf states. In background cited by the IOM, poverty, insecurity and climate pressures continue to push people onto the route despite the dangers. The agency also said the number of people making the journey has remained high, even as deaths and disappearances have mounted on the Yemen-bound crossing.