Djibouti ship capsizes with 305 migrants on board, at least 139 dead and 84 missing in deadly shipwreck

At least 139 people, including children, have died after a boat carrying 305 migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti in East Africa, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday.

Djibouti ship capsizes with migrants on board

At least 84 people remain missing, making the incident one of the deadliest shipwrecks on the increasingly dangerous migration route linking the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula. Many migrants use the crossing in the hope of finding work and better opportunities in the wealthy Gulf countries.

According to the IOM, the ship was traveling from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized late Thursday or early Friday. More than 80 people survived the incident, all of them Ethiopian nationals, the organization said.

Rescue operations continued as fears grew for those still missing. A video shared by IOM shows personal belongings believed to have belonged to the migrants, including shoes, strewn across the beach.

Tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa travel through Djibouti and cross the Bab el-Mandeb strait towards Gulf countries each year in search of safety and economic opportunities, the IOM said.

The movement continues despite renewed fighting in Yemen, which lies across the strait.

What do the authorities say?

“It’s a devastating loss of life,” said Alexandre Coissac, IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti. He added that the tragedy highlighted the risks migrants face along the route as they try to find economic opportunities.

IOM Director-General Amy Pope also called for urgent action to prevent further deaths, stressing that people often make such dangerous journeys because they see no safer alternative.

“No one gets on a ship like this unless they believe there is no other safe way. We cannot continue to take these deaths for granted. Safe and legal journeys save lives. I am asking governments and donors to act before another ship sinks,” Pope said.

The latest disaster underscores the ongoing dangers faced by migrants trying to reach the Arabian Peninsula by sea, often aboard overcrowded vessels that are ill-equipped for the journey.

According to the IOM Missing Migrants Project, more than 900 migrants died or went missing on this route last year. The organization has repeatedly called for safer migration options to reduce the loss of life along one of the most used but dangerous crossings in the region.