Shipwreck in Djibouti : Death toll rises to 139 as 84 remain missing

The toll rose from 109 after the bodies of 30 more people were recovered. Search and rescue efforts are continuing.

The boat was carrying 305 people from Djibouti towards Yemen when it went down near Guehere, north of Obock, in the early hours of Friday. About 82 people survived.

IOM described it as one of the deadliest shipwrecks recorded on the Eastern Route, which runs from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula.

On the move, despite risks

The shipwreck comes as Djibouti deals with continued traffic in both directions.

Since 10 September, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix has recorded more than 20,000 movements into the country from Ethiopia, as migrants keep heading for the Gulf despite the return to full-scale fighting in Yemen.

Over roughly the same period, more than 3,700 refugees have arrived from Yemen, while 539 Ethiopian migrants have come back from there.

Alexandre Coissac, IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti, told journalists in Geneva on 6 October that the country was facing “overlapping emergencies”.

“Djibouti is therefore confronting movements in both directions,” Coissac said, adding that migrants were increasingly becoming stranded, with more than 3,000 seen along routes in Djibouti between 20 and 30 September, often without access to basic services.

“No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope.

Safe pathways ‘save lives’: Pope

“We cannot keep treating these deaths as normal. Safe and legal pathways save lives. I am asking governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down.”

Djiboutian authorities are continuing search and recovery operations as fears grow for those still unaccounted for.

IOM is providing emergency assistance to survivors at its Migrant Response Centre in Obock, including healthcare, psychosocial support, food, shelter and protection services.

‘Deeply saddened’

The UN Resident Coordinator in Djibouti, Jose Barahona, said he was deeply saddened by the loss of at least 139 lives, among them children.

“Our thoughts are with the victims, the survivors and the families waiting for news of their loved ones,” Barahona said on social media. “We express our solidarity and welcome the ongoing search and rescue efforts.”

Every life lost at sea is a tragedy, he added, recalling the Secretary-General’s recent warning that such deaths underline the urgency of protecting people on the move, expanding safe migration pathways and strengthening international cooperation.