DJIBOUTI — At least 139 migrants have died and 84 remain missing after a boat carrying 305 people capsized off Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration said Sunday, October 11.

Reuters reports that the vessel sank near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, during the night of October 8–9. About 82 people survived.

Search-and-rescue work continued Sunday. IOM said local authorities were providing medical care to survivors and arranging burials for those who died.

One of the route’s deadliest shipwrecks

The Associated Press reported that the official toll includes bodies buried by authorities and could rise. Survivors were taken to an IOM centre in Obock for medical and psychological support.

The passengers were travelling toward Yemen, hoping eventually to reach Gulf countries for work. The crossing is part of the Eastern Route from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, where migrants face shipwrecks, trafficking and detention.

IOM data cited by Reuters says more than 900 people died or disappeared along the route in 2025.

Sources: Reuters, published October 11 at 6:24 a.m. EDT; Associated Press, October 11.

Lead image: flag of Djibouti via Wikimedia Commons, CC0/public domain. Illustrative image, not a photograph of the shipwreck.