At least 139 people, including children, have died after a migrant boat capsized off Djibouti, with a further 84 people still missing, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
The vessel was carrying 305 migrants from Djibouti towards Yemen when it overturned on Thursday night or in the early hours of Friday. More than 80 people survived, all of them Ethiopian nationals.
Rescue efforts were continuing as fears grew for those unaccounted for. Personal belongings believed to have belonged to passengers, including shoes, were seen on a beach in video shared by the IOM.
Deadly crossing from the Horn of Africa
The crossing from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula is used each year by tens of thousands of migrants seeking safety and economic opportunities in Gulf countries.
Many travel through Djibouti before attempting to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen, despite newly escalating fighting in the country.
“This is a devastating loss of life,” said Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities.”
IOM director general Amy Pope said: “No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way.”
“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,” she added.
More than 900 migrants died or went missing along the route last year, according to the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.
