At least 139 migrants have died and 84 remain missing after a boat carrying 305 people capsized off Djibouti while heading toward Yemen, according to the International Organization for Migration. The United Nations migration agency said 82 people survived the disaster, which occurred near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, during the night of October 8 to 9.
The latest toll is higher than the initial figure reported earlier on Sunday. Reuters, the Associated Press and The Guardian all carried the revised IOM count of 139 dead, 84 missing and 82 survivors. At least 15 children were among those killed. Search and rescue operations were continuing, and the agency warned that the number of confirmed deaths could still rise as authorities verify additional bodies.
What happened near Guhere
Survivor accounts collected by IOM indicate that the vessel left Djibouti for Yemen on the evening of October 8 and capsized soon afterward. AP reported that IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti, Alexandre Coissac, attributed the sinking mainly to overcrowding. The boat was close to shore, but local teams were overwhelmed by the number of bodies reaching the coastline.
Djiboutian authorities continued search and rescue work while providing medical care and arranging burials. IOM teams were supporting the response with emergency assistance. Survivors taken to the agency’s migrant response centre in Obock were receiving medical and psychological help; many had swallowed seawater and were described as being in shock. Some had already learned that relatives travelling with them had died, while others were able to contact family members to say they were alive.
A dangerous route toward the Gulf
The vessel was crossing toward Yemen as part of the so-called Eastern Route, which links the Horn of Africa with the Arabian Peninsula. Many migrants travel through Djibouti and across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the hope of reaching Gulf countries for work or safety. IOM said all of the survivors were Ethiopian nationals.
The journey remains active despite renewed fighting in Yemen. The direction of movement also underscores the complexity of the regional crisis: migrants continue attempting to reach Yemen on their way toward Gulf states even as thousands of Yemenis have fled in the opposite direction to Djibouti. Reuters reported that more than 3,700 people had crossed by sea from Yemen to Djibouti as of the previous week.
IOM data cited by Reuters and AP show that more than 900 migrants died or went missing on the Eastern Route in 2025, while the number of people attempting the journey increased by 18 percent. Risks extend beyond shipwrecks and include trafficking, long journeys in extreme heat and arbitrary detention after landfall.
Figures remain provisional
The confirmed death toll currently includes people buried by Djiboutian authorities. AP reported that some victims were buried by migrants themselves and would not be added to the official total until authorities could verify the bodies. That means the final scale of the disaster may not be known until the search and identification process advances.
For now, the most reliable consolidated figure is the latest IOM count: 139 confirmed dead, 84 missing and 82 survivors from a vessel carrying 305 people. With rescue operations ongoing, any further official revision should replace earlier totals rather than be combined with them.
