139 Migrants Dead After Boat Capsizes Off Djibouti

DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti (AP) — At least 139 migrants, including children, died after an overcrowded boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti while trying to cross one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes, U.N. officials said.

The boat was carrying more than 300 people when it sank near Obock, in northern Djibouti, after leaving for Yemen across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. At least 84 people remained missing, and more than 80 survivors were receiving medical and psychological care, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Most of the passengers were Ethiopians trying to reach Gulf countries in search of work. The route has long been used by migrants and smugglers despite war in Yemen, abuse by traffickers, arrests, drownings and desert crossings that can turn deadly before anyone even reaches the water.

The IOM called the wreck one of the deadliest disasters on the route in recent years. Officials said bodies were recovered along the coast and buried by local authorities, though some deaths may never be fully confirmed because fellow migrants also buried victims.

The tragedy underscores the grim logic of the route: people fleeing poverty, conflict or forced recruitment risk a sea crossing into another war zone because the alternative at home feels even worse.

More than 900 migrants died or went missing on the route last year, according to the U.N. agency. Search and recovery efforts were continuing.