At least 15 children were among 109 migrants who died when a boat sank off Djibouti, while another 116 people remain missing, the United Nations migration agency said Sunday.
The vessel was carrying about 350 people from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized north of the Djiboutian port town of Obock on Oct. 8, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Survivors provided details of the disaster, the agency said.
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“This is a devastating loss of life. Our thoughts are with the survivors and the families who have lost loved ones or remain without news of their relatives,” Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti, said in a statement.
IOM teams were working with Djiboutian authorities at the scene to deliver emergency assistance, Coissac said.
The recovered bodies included 52 men, 42 women and 15 children — nine girls and six boys — the agency said. More than 80 people survived, all of them Ethiopian nationals.
Coissac described the sinking as a stark reminder of the dangers migrants face along the route as they pursue economic opportunities, crossing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait toward Yemen and, ultimately, Gulf countries.
“Poverty, insecurity and the growing impacts of climate change drive many to make this journey, despite mounting instability across the Middle East,” the IOM said.
