139 Dead, 84 Missing, and a Route That Claims More Each Year

The sea does not distinguish between hope and desperation. It receives both with the same indifference, and sometimes it returns neither. On the night of October 8, a boat carrying 305 people—most of them Ethiopian migrants seeking work and safety in the Gulf—left the coast of Djibouti and began to sink almost immediately. When the water stilled and the count was made, at least 139 people were dead, including fifteen children. Eighty-four remain missing, and the fear is that the number will rise .

The vessel capsized near the port town of Obock, north of Guhere, as it headed toward Yemen across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Alexandre Coissac, the International Organization for Migration's chief of mission in Djibouti, said the boat began to sink backwards as soon as passengers boarded. "Mainly because it was overcrowded," he explained. The local authorities did their best, he said, "but they were overwhelmed with all the bodies that kept coming at once towards the shore" .

Among the recovered dead were 52 men, 42 women, and 15 children—nine girls and six boys. Eighty-two people survived, all Ethiopian nationals. They were taken to an IOM center in Obock, where they received medical care after swallowing seawater and psychological support. "They're all in a state of shock," Coissac said. "I tried to talk to some of them, but it's very difficult" .

Some survivors were already aware that family members had died. Others were given phones to call home and tell loved ones they were alive. Coissac described the burials with a quiet horror: "They were buried with no names, in a common grave, like in a war situation. They all have a mother, a father, and we may never learn what happened" .

The route they were attempting is one of the world's most dangerous. Tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa make the crossing to Yemen every year, hoping to reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. The journey is fraught with peril: violence in Yemen, thirst and hunger on the long walk to the Saudi border, and the ever-present risk of the sea itself. Last year, more than 900 migrants died or went missing along this route. The year before that, two boats capsized off Yemen, leaving more than 180 missing .

Despite the escalating conflict in Yemen—where Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces have been fighting for years—the flow of migrants has not stopped. Since September 10, the IOM has detected more than 20,000 crossings from Ethiopia to Djibouti. Many of those on the boat that sank had previously been turned back from Yemen but attempted the journey again .

"No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way," said IOM Director General Amy Pope. "We cannot keep treating these deaths as normal. Safe and legal pathways save lives. I am asking governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down" .

The Djiboutian authorities continued search and rescue operations on Sunday, though hopes of finding survivors were fading. The IOM is working with local authorities to provide health care and shelter for those who made it to shore. For the families of the 139 dead and 84 missing, the wait for news continues—a wait that, for many, will end not with relief but with the confirmation of a loss that began on a crowded boat and ended in a common grave without names.

AI Image Disclaimer: All visual elements in this report are AI-generated and serve illustrative purposes only, not as photographic records of the events described.

Sources: International Organization for Migration, BBC, The New York Times, CBC News, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha