At least 109 people died in the overturned ship

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), fifteen children are among the 109 killed in a shipwreck off the coast of Djibouti, and more than 116 people are missing.

A ship capsized off the coast of Djibouti, leaving 109 migrants dead and more than 116 missing, the UN agency said.

The vessel was on its way from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized near Guere, north of Obok, on the night of 8 October, survivors told IOM.

More than 80 people remained alive, all of them Ethiopian nationals, the agency added.

“This is a terrible loss of life. Our thoughts are with the survivors and families who have lost loved ones or still have no news of their relatives, said Alexander Kuassak, head of IOM Djibouti.

“Our teams are on the ground with local authorities to provide emergency assistance. This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers migrants face in this migration corridor in search of economic opportunity, he said.

IOM says it is assisting 64 survivors at its Obok Migrant Response Centre while Djibouti authorities continue search and rescue operations.

Thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa are travelling through Djibouti and crossing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into Yemen in search of safety and work, the IOM added.

The agency said the violence in Yemen has not stopped migrants who may face violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, exploitation and trafficking in the country.

According to the IOM project Missing Migrants, more than 900 migrants died or went missing on the route in 2025.

The route between the Horn of Africa and the Arab Peninsula is one of the busiest migration routes in the world. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Ethiopians and Somalis, use it to reach the Gulf states, mainly Saudi Arabia. Some have been forced to leave their communities by conflict and natural disasters, while others are moving in search of work and other economic opportunities. The eastern route accounts for most of the migration flows from the Horn of Africa. Other major routes for migrants are the northern route to North Africa and Europe and the southern route to South Africa. The eastern route is also one of the most dangerous in the world, with some people dying by walking long distances in scorching heat, and others from capsizing boats on which smugglers land in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.