109 migrants killed, 116 missing after boat capsizes off Djibouti: UN

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Google map image of Obock in Djibouti where a boat capsized killing several people.

The death toll from a boat sinking off Djibouti has risen to 139 with 30 more bodies found, a UN agency said on Sunday (October 11, 2026).

Some 84 people remain missing from the sinking, which occurred on the night of October 8-9 as the overcrowded vessel was headed from Djibouti to Yemen, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Survivors said the vessel — which was carrying 350 people from Djibouti to Yemen — capsized north of the Djibouti town of Obock, according to a statement from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“This is a devastating loss of life. Our thoughts are with the survivors and the families who have lost loved ones or remain without news of their relatives,” said Alexandre Coissac, IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, in the statement.

He said IOM teams were on the ground alongside Djiboutian authorities to provide emergency aid.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities” by trying to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen and then to reach Gulf countries.

Among the 109 bodies recovered were 52 men, 42 women and 15 children — nine girls and six boys — the statement said.

“Poverty, insecurity and the growing impacts of climate change drive many to undertake this journey, despite mounting instability across the Middle East,” the IOM said.

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