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139 dead after migrant boat capsizes off Djibouti coast
Published : Monday, 12 October, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Observer Online Report
Collected Photo
At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, have been killed and 84 others remain missing after a boat sank off the coast of Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said. Al Jazeera reported the incident.
According to the IOM, citing survivors, the accident occurred between Thursday night and early Friday near the Gulf of Aden, close to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off eastern Djibouti.
The boat was carrying more than 300 passengers and had departed Djibouti for Yemen. More than 80 people were rescued alive, all of them Ethiopian nationals. Rescue teams in Djibouti are continuing their search operations.
Alexander Kwak, head of the IOM mission in Djibouti, expressed deep sorrow over the “tragic loss of life”. He said the organisation’s team was providing emergency assistance at the site in coordination with local authorities.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Kwak said the number of deaths confirmed so far included only those buried by Djiboutian authorities. Many other bodies had reportedly been buried by fellow migrants. These deaths have not been included in the official tally pending verification by the authorities.
At its narrowest point, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which separates Djibouti and Yemen, is only about 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) wide. Thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa regularly use this route.
Many undertake the dangerous journey in search of employment and security in Gulf countries. Despite the Iran-US-Israel war and renewed clashes between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels last month, migrant movements along the route have continued.
The IOM said it had recorded more than 20,000 people entering Djibouti from Ethiopia since September 10.
According to the organisation’s statistics, more than 500,000 people attempted to reach Yemen via this route last year, with at least 900 dying or going missing.
-MT
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
