109 Migrants, Including 15 Children, Dead After Boat Capsizes Off Djibouti, UN Says
The International Organization for Migration said Sunday at least 109 migrants died and more than 116 were missing after a boat carrying roughly 350 people capsized off Djibouti while headed to Yemen.
At least 109 migrants, including 15 children, have died and more than 116 are missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti while traveling toward Yemen, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration said Sunday.
The vessel, carrying about 350 people, capsized near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, during the night of October 8–9, the IOM said, citing survivor accounts.
Of the 109 bodies recovered, 52 were men, 42 were women and 15 were children — nine girls and six boys, according to the agency. More than 80 people survived the shipwreck, all of them Ethiopian nationals.
Search and rescue continues
Djiboutian authorities are continuing search-and-rescue operations as fears grow for those still missing, and local authorities are providing medical care to survivors and arranging burials for the dead, the IOM said. The agency is assisting 64 survivors at its Migrant Response Centre in Obock.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities,” said Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti.
A deadly route
The crossing takes migrants from the Horn of Africa across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen, often as a first step toward the Gulf states. According to the IOM, more than 900 migrants died or went missing along the sea route to Yemen last year, and more than 20,000 crossings from Ethiopia to Djibouti have been recorded since September 10.
Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and The Business Standard.
