At least 139 people died after a boat carrying more than 300 migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti in East Africa, according to CBS News. The dead included 15 children, nine girls and six boys, and more than 80 people survived the wreck.
The Djibouti migrant boat capsizing happened close to shore not long after passengers boarded the vessel on the evening of Oct. 8, 2026. The boat went down overnight Thursday into Friday morning, mainly because it was overcrowded, CBS News reported. It had been headed from Djibouti toward Yemen, a route used by migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking work in Gulf nations.
What Happened To The Djibouti Migrant Boat
The U.N. migration agency, the International Organization for Migration, said the vessel had 305 people on board. All of the more than 80 survivors are Ethiopian nationals, and at least 84 people remained missing as of the latest count.
Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti, visited the area on Saturday and described survivors as being in a state of shock. “This is a devastating loss of life,” Coissac said. “Our thoughts are with the survivors and the families who have lost loved ones or remain without news of their relatives.”
Recovery Efforts And Local Response
Coissac said local authorities struggled to keep pace with the number of bodies that washed ashore. “The local authorities did their best, but they were overwhelmed with all the bodies that kept coming at once towards the shore,” he said.
Many of the dead were buried without being identified, Coissac said. “What is terrible is that they were buried with no names, in a common grave, like in a war situation,” he said. “They all have a mother, a father, and we may never learn what happened.”
Background On The Horn Of Africa Migration Route
The crossing from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is one of the busiest and most dangerous migration routes in the world. Tens of thousands of migrants pass through Djibouti and across the strait toward Gulf countries each year, drawn by the hope of finding work.
The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project recorded more than 900 deaths or disappearances on the route last year alone, and the agency has said the number of migrants attempting the journey has risen 18% in recent years. CBS News reported this shipwreck ranks among the deadliest on that corridor.
Calls For Safer Migration Pathways
IOM Director-General Amy Pope called on governments and donors to expand legal options for migration in response to the deaths. “No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way,” Pope said. “We cannot keep treating these deaths as normal.
Safe and legal pathways save lives. I am asking governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down.”
The IOM has not released further details on efforts to identify the dead or locate the 84 people still missing. The agency’s statements so far represent the fullest public accounting of the disaster.
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