IOM says 139 died and 84 are missing after a boat sank off Djibouti; all 82 survivors are Ethiopians
The boat was carrying 305 people from Djibouti to Yemen and capsized near Guhere, north of Obock, overnight on Thursday into Friday. Fifteen of the dead were children. One survivor told IOM they had come from Tigray.

IOM's updated toll on Sunday put the dead from the boat disaster near Obock at 139, with 84 still missing. Of the 305 people aboard, only about 82 survived, all of them Ethiopian nationals.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday 11 October that at least 139 people had died and 84 were still missing after a boat travelling from Djibouti to Yemen capsized. The toll rose from 109 after another 30 bodies were recovered. The vessel was carrying 305 people and went down near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, overnight on Thursday into Friday. Of the first 109 bodies recovered, 52 were men, 42 were women and 15 were children. About 82 people survived, all of them Ethiopian nationals. One survivor told IOM they had come from Tigray. Alexandre Coissac, IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, called the loss of life "devastating" and said IOM teams were on the ground with local authorities providing emergency assistance. Safiya Ibrahim, IOM humanitarian response coordinator, said: "On board were women and men, but also children. The provisional toll is particularly heavy." IOM described it as one of the deadliest recorded shipwrecks on the Eastern Route, and said more than 900 people died or went missing on that route in 2025. IOM also said its Displacement Tracking Matrix has recorded more than 20,000 incoming movements from Ethiopia into Djibouti since 10 September. Djiboutian authorities are continuing search and recovery work and arranging burials. Natna News could not independently verify the figures.
This story is also available in:
ትግርኛ