Death toll in Djibouti migrant boat capsizing rises to 139, IOM says

At least 139 migrants have died and 84 are missing after a boat carrying 305 people capsized off Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in an update on 11 October 2026.

The toll rose from 109 after 30 more bodies were recovered, IOM said. About 82 people survived, and search and rescue efforts are continuing.

In an earlier statement the same day, IOM said the boat was travelling from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized near Guhere, north of Obock, during the night of 8–9 October, according to survivors. That statement put the dead at 109, including 15 children (nine girls and six boys), 52 men and 42 women.

The survivors are all Ethiopian nationals, IOM said. It is assisting 64 of them at its Migrant Response Centre in Obock.

“This is a devastating loss of life,” said Alexandre Coissac, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti. “Our teams are on the ground alongside local authorities to provide emergency assistance.”

IOM Director General Amy Pope said: “No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way.” She added: “I am asking governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down.”

IOM said that each year tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa travel through Djibouti. Since 10 September, its Displacement Tracking Matrix has observed more than 20,000 incoming movements to Djibouti from Ethiopia.

In 2025, more than 900 migrants died or went missing along this route, while the number making the journey rose by 18 per cent, IOM said. A shipwreck in March 2026 left nine people dead and 45 missing, it said.

Al Jazeera reported on 11 October that the Bab al-Mandeb strait, between Djibouti and Yemen, measures 20 km at its narrowest points.