At least 139 migrants dead after boat from Djibouti to Yemen capsizes, UN Agency says

At least 139 migrants are dead and dozens are missing after a boat carrying 305 people capsized while sailing from Djibouti to Yemen, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

The dead include 15 children, and 84 people remain missing.

Citing survivor accounts, the UN agency said the vessel went down near Guhere, north of the Djiboutian town of Obock, on Thursday night into Friday morning.

Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti, said the migrants boarded on October 8 and that the boat sank soon afterwards, close to shore, mainly because it was overcrowded. He said the toll of 139 counts only those buried by Djiboutian authorities.

Others were buried by the migrants themselves and will not be added to the official count until authorities can verify the bodies.

Local authorities did their best, he said, but were overwhelmed by the number of bodies washing ashore at once. He added that the dead were buried without names in a common grave, as in a war situation.

The disaster is the latest on the dangerous “Eastern Route.” The migrants were heading for Yemen in the hope of eventually reaching wealthier Gulf countries, despite the violence in Yemen.

More than 900 people died or went missing on the route in 2025. Smugglers typically move migrants across the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden on overcrowded boats.

The IOM noted that more than 3,700 people had fled Yemen by sea to Djibouti as of last week, the opposite of recent migration patterns.

For the families of the dead, many may never learn what happened. Coissac said each of the victims had a mother and a father.

He described the sinking as a devastating loss of life. The final toll may rise as the missing are accounted for and more bodies are verified.