At least 139 dead, 84 missing as migrant boat capsizes off Djibouti

At least 139 people, including 15 children, have died and at least 84 remain missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti. The vessel was traveling from Djibouti to Yemen with 305 people aboard when the accident occurred near the port town of Obock. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the boat sank on the night of October 8-9.

The survivors, who are all Ethiopian nationals, consist of approximately 82 people. Alexandre Coissac, the IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, stated that survivors reported the boat began to sink backwards as soon as they entered it. IOM teams are working with Djiboutian authorities to provide emergency aid and medical care to survivors.

The reported death toll was revised from an initial figure of 109 following the recovery of 30 additional bodies. The IOM noted that tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa attempt this perilous journey across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait each year in search of safety and work.

Brief written by urgent.news from Qatar Tribune, KahawaTungu, Channel News Asia, PBS NewsHour, CBC News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.