Djibouti: Rescuers Search for 116 Migrants Missing After Boat Wreck Off Djibouti

A migrant boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, resulting in at least 139 deaths and 84 people still missing, reported the United Nations migration agency. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) quoted survivors as stating that the incident occurred near Guhere on Djibouti’s eastern coast in the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, between Thursday night and before dawn on Friday.

The boat, which was carrying more than 300 people, was en route to Yemen. Over 80 survivors, all of whom were Ethiopian, managed to escape the shipwreck while rescue efforts by Djiboutian authorities continued. IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti, Alexandre Coissac, expressed sorrow over the "devastating loss of life" and noted that his teams were working alongside local authorities to provide emergency assistance.

The death toll only includes those confirmed by authorities in Djibouti; additional bodies recovered by the migrants themselves will not be factored into the official count until the authorities can verify them. Coissac highlighted that this tragedy serves as a grim illustration of the risks migrants face in the Gulf of Aden as they seek better economic prospects.