At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, died after a boat carrying 305 people toward Yemen capsized off Djibouti on the night of October 8–9, 2026. A further 84 people were reported missing, while about 82 survived, according to reports citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
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How the reported toll changed
IOM’s initial count was 109 deaths and 116 people missing. The agency later raised the death toll by 30, to at least 139, and revised the missing figure to 84.
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The initial 109 recovered victims included 52 men, 42 women and 15 children: nine girls and six boys.
3 The updated figure of 139 is an official count, not necessarily a complete accounting of everyone who died. The Associated Press reported that it covered people buried by Djiboutian authorities; bodies buried by migrants themselves would not be added until authorities could verify them.
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Where the boat capsized and what followed
The boat was travelling from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized near Guhere, north of Obock, during the night of October 8–9.
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16 Search-and-rescue efforts were continuing after the updated toll was announced.
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An earlier report said IOM was assisting 64 survivors at a migrant centre in Obock.
18 That figure describes the assistance reported at that stage; it is separate from the later overall estimate of about 82 survivors.
The wider migration route
The crossing forms part of a route from the Horn of Africa through Djibouti and across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait toward Yemen, with some migrants hoping to reach Gulf countries for work.
26 IOM reported more than 20,000 journeys from Ethiopia since September 10, as well as more than 3,700 refugees reaching Djibouti in the preceding three weeks after crossing the Red Sea.
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Those figures describe wider movements through the region; they do not establish why any individual boarded the boat. The confirmed reporting on this shipwreck remains stark: at least 139 people dead, 84 missing and rescue efforts continuing.