More than 100 dead and 116 migrants missing after a boat sank off the coast of Djibouti

At least 109 migrants were killed, including 15 children, and about 116 others went missing after a boat sank off the coast of Djibouti on the night of October 8-9, according to what the International Organization for Migration announced on Sunday.

The organization said in a statement, based on the testimonies of survivors, that the boat, which was carrying 350 people, sailed from Djibouti heading to Yemen, before it capsized north of the coast of the Djiboutian city of Abuk, noting that its teams are supporting the local authorities in providing emergency aid on the ground.

"It is a horrific loss of life. Our hearts go out to the survivors and the families who lost their loved ones or still do not know the fate of their relatives," the organization's head of mission in Djibouti, Alexander Kowasak, said in the statement.

He added, "This tragedy is a stark reminder of the risks that migrants face on this migratory path in pursuit of economic opportunities." Migrants are trying to cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait into Yemen and reach the Gulf countries.

The organization explained that the bodies of the 109 victims recovered included 52 men, 42 women and 15 children, including nine girls and six boys. More than 80 people survived the accident, all of them Ethiopians.

The International Organization for Migration said, "Poverty, insecurity, and the growing consequences of climate change are pushing many to undertake this journey despite escalating unrest across the Middle East."

It is noteworthy that Djibouti is the starting point for the so-called eastern migration route from the Horn of Africa through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to the Arabian Peninsula.