Migration & Borders
Djibouti boat wreck kills 109 migrants, 116 missing: UN
At least 109 migrants, including 15 children, died and about 116 were missing after a boat capsized off Djibouti overnight on October 8-9, the International Organization for Migration said.
Survivors said the vessel was carrying 350 people from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized north of the Djibouti town of Obock, according to the UN migration agency.
The IOM said the recovered bodies included 52 men, 42 women and 15 children: nine girls and six boys. It said more than 80 people survived the shipwreck, all of them Ethiopian nationals.
Alexandre Coissac, the IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, said agency teams were working with Djiboutian authorities to provide emergency aid. The IOM said it was assisting 64 survivors at a migrant centre in Obock, while Djiboutian authorities continued search and rescue operations.
The IOM said many migrants try to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen and then reach Gulf countries in search of economic opportunities. It said poverty, insecurity and the growing effects of climate change push many people to attempt the journey despite instability in the Middle East.
The agency said it had detected more than 20,000 crossings to Djibouti from Ethiopia since September 10. It said more than 900 migrants died or went missing on the sea route to Yemen in 2025, when the number attempting the journey rose by 18 percent. A shipwreck in March 2026 left nine people dead and 45 missing.
Update
The International Organization for Migration said it was assisting 64 survivors at a migrant centre in Obock.
The IOM said Djiboutian authorities were continuing search and rescue operations for those still missing.
The IOM said it had detected more than 20,000 crossings to Djibouti from Ethiopia since September 10.
The IOM said more than 900 migrants died or went missing on the sea route to Yemen in 2025, when attempts increased by 18 percent.
An IOM spokesman told AFP this week that most people attempting the journey were from Ethiopia or Somalia and that many were becoming stuck in Djibouti.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 October 2026 at 10:25:41 UTC.
Update
The IOM said the 109 recovered bodies included 52 men, 42 women and 15 children.
The IOM said more than 80 people survived, all Ethiopian nationals.
The IOM described the route as a crossing of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait toward Yemen and then Gulf countries.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 October 2026 at 09:42:28 UTC.
Update
The International Organization for Migration said 15 children were among at least 109 people killed.
About 116 people were missing after the boat sank overnight on October 8-9.
Survivors said the vessel was carrying 350 people from Djibouti to Yemen.
Survivors said the boat capsized north of Obock, Djibouti.
IOM teams were on the ground with local authorities to provide emergency aid.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 October 2026 at 09:13:34 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The number of missing people was described as about 116, and search and rescue operations were continuing.
The account of the number of people on board came from survivors.
Source
AFP news report published on .