At least 109 migrants, including 15 children dead as boat sinks off Djibouti, 116 go missing

At least 109 migrants, including 15 children died after their boat sank off the shores of Djibouti overnight on October 8-9, a UN agency said Sunday. While the number of missing stands at 116. The boat carrying 350 people from Djibouti to Yemen capsized north of the Djibouti town of Obock, according to a statement from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

“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 Mr. 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," Coissac further said.

Among the 109 bodies recovered so far, 52 are men, 42 women and 15 children including nine girls and six boys. More than 80 people, all reported to be Ethiopian nations survived the shipwreck.

IOM is assisting 64 survivors at its Obock Migrant Response Centre (MRC) with healthcare, temporary shelter, food assistance, and support to help the migrants establish contact with their families.

Djiboutian authorities are carrying out search and rescue operations to locate those still missing in the mishap.

Every year, thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa travel through Djibouti and cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen expecting to reach Gulf countries in search of better living, despite growing instability across the Middle East.

According to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, more than 20,000 incoming movements to Djibouti from Ethiopia have been observed since September 10.