Ship accident: At least 139 migrants die in boat accident

Djibouti. According to the UN, at least 139 migrants have died in a ship accident off the coast of Djibouti. There are also 15 children among them. 84 passengers from the capsized boat en route from Djibouti to Yemen are still missing, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. The search for the dead and possible survivors continued. More than 80 people survived the shipwreck. According to the UN, all of them are Ethiopian nationals.

IOM Director General Amy Pope called for safe and legal access routes for migrants in light of the tragedy. “No one gets into a boat like this unless they believe there is no other safe way,” she said in a statement. "We can no longer accept these deaths as normal. I call on governments and donors to act before the next boat sinks."

"This is a devastating loss of life. Our thoughts are with the survivors and the families who have lost loved ones or still have no news of their relatives," said Alexandre Coissac, head of the IOM mission in Djibouti. "Our teams are on the ground alongside local authorities to provide emergency assistance. This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers migrants face in search of economic opportunities along this migration corridor."

Djibouti is the starting point of the so-called eastern migration route from the Horn of Africa via the Bab al-Mandab Strait to the Arabian Peninsula. After the dangerous journey through the desert, most migrants wait in Obock for smugglers to organize places for them on fishing boats. The migrants' ship also capsized off the coast of Obock.

A few days ago, the IOM reported that more than 20,000 migrants from Ethiopia had arrived in Djibouti within three weeks. The country in the Horn of Africa is currently threatened with another civil war following new fighting in the Tigray region. People from Somalia also repeatedly try to get to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or Oman via the port of Djibouti, where they hope for work and more stability.

According to IOM information, it is not just sea crossings that are associated with significant dangers. Migrants reaching Yemen face risks such as violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, exploitation and human trafficking, it said.

According to the IOM's Missing Migrants project, more than 900 migrants died or went missing on this route in 2025, while the number making the journey increased by 18 percent. Another shipwreck in March 2026 killed nine people and left 45 others missing.