Children among 109 dead after boat capsizes off Djibouti, UN says

A migrant boat travelling from Djibouti to Yemen capsized near the port town of Obock on Thursday night. At least 109 people died, including 15 children. Dozens more remain missing. The disaster shows how a short sea crossing can become deadly when overcrowded boats travel through difficult conditions.

The boat carried 350 people. Around 80 were rescued, and 64 survivors later received help from the IOM at its response centre in Obock. Recovered bodies included 52 men, 42 women, nine girls and six boys. All survivors were Ethiopian nationals and had medical care available.

Local authorities are arranging burials for those who died. The IOM is also helping survivors contact their families. The tragedy has renewed attention on a route where more than 900 migrants died or went missing in 2025, while many more continue travelling because of poverty, insecurity and climate pressures.

The size of the group made the sinking especially devastating. A single boat carried 350 migrants from Djibouti toward Yemen, creating a large-scale emergency when it capsized near Obock. The numbers show that this was not an isolated individual accident but a disaster affecting hundreds of people at once.

At least 109 people died, including 52 men, 42 women, nine girls and six boys. Around 80 people were rescued, while dozens remained missing. These figures do not account for every person originally aboard, showing how difficult the rescue and accounting effort became after the sinking.

The disaster also reflects the pressure on this migration route. Tens of thousands attempt the journey each year. IOM figures say more than 900 migrants died or went missing on the same route in 2025, while attempts increased by 18 percent. The scale points to continuing danger, not a one-time event.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. It separates the Horn of Africa, including Djibouti, from Yemen. The article identifies it as the sea crossing migrants use when travelling from Djibouti toward Yemen.

Its importance comes from its location. The strait provides a direct route between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, making it part of a journey toward Gulf countries for safety and work. Yet migrants often make the crossing in boats that can capsize, as the disaster near Obock showed.

The crossing remains active despite Yemen’s civil war and instability across the wider region. Since 10 September, IOM tracking recorded more than 20,000 movements from Ethiopia to Djibouti. The route’s importance therefore has two sides: it connects migrants to hoped-for opportunities, but it also exposes them to deadly sea travel and danger after arrival.

Migrants from the Horn of Africa attempt this journey because they are seeking a safer or more secure life. The IOM says tens of thousands travel each year, hoping to reach Gulf countries for safety and work. This goal can outweigh the known dangers of crossing the sea.

The article names three major pressures: poverty, insecurity and the growing impacts of climate change. These forces can make life at home increasingly difficult. Since 10 September, IOM tracking has observed more than 20,000 movements from Ethiopia to Djibouti, showing that many people continue moving toward the crossing.

The journey offers no guarantee of safety. Yemen has faced a civil war lasting more than a decade, and the wider region is becoming more unstable. Still, people keep travelling. The continuing movement suggests that the conditions driving migration remain powerful, while the route itself remains dangerous and urgently needs protection and assistance.

Arrival in Yemen can expose migrants to further danger rather than providing immediate safety. The country remains engulfed in a civil war that has lasted more than a decade. The article also points to growing instability across the wider region, adding uncertainty after migrants cross the sea.

The journey itself can be fatal. In the latest sinking, at least 109 people died and dozens were missing. Those who survived needed medical care and help restoring contact with their families. The IOM provided assistance to 64 survivors at its Obock response centre, while local authorities arranged burials.

These risks matter because migrants continue crossing despite them. They are driven by poverty, insecurity and climate change, and hope to reach Gulf countries for safety and work. The IOM is working with local authorities to help migrants and prevent deaths at sea and on land, but recent figures show the danger remains severe.

The route has become both common and deadly. IOM figures show that more than 900 migrants died or went missing while taking the same route in 2025. At the same time, the number of people attempting the journey increased by 18 percent, meaning exposure to danger was growing rather than declining.

Recent incidents show the continuing pattern. In March 2026, nine people were killed and 45 were missing after a similar incident. In the latest sinking, a boat carrying 350 people capsized near Obock. At least 109 died, around 80 were rescued, and dozens remained missing.

These figures suggest a persistent humanitarian crisis along the route. Tens of thousands travel from the Horn of Africa each year, driven by poverty, insecurity and climate change. The IOM is assisting survivors and working with authorities to prevent deaths, but continued attempts show that the underlying pressures remain unresolved.

Poverty, insecurity and climate change can reduce people’s ability to live safely where they are. They may lose income, face unsafe conditions or see fewer ways to support their families. The article says migrants travel because they hope to find safety and work in Gulf countries, even though the journey threatens their lives.

The latest sinking shows how this pressure operates. A boat carrying 350 people travelled from Djibouti toward Yemen, where at least 109 died. Around 80 were rescued, but dozens remained missing. The crossing became a deadly attempt to escape difficult circumstances, not simply a search for adventure.

The pattern is continuing. IOM recorded more than 20,000 movements from Ethiopia to Djibouti since 10 September, while more than 900 migrants died or went missing on the route in 2025. Unless the pressures driving people to leave improve, dangerous journeys may continue despite rescue efforts and warnings.