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At least 109 migrants died, including 15 children, and some 116 went missing when a boat sank off the shores of Djibouti on the night of October 8-9, a UN agency said\u00a0Sunday.<\/strong><\/p>\n Survivors said the vessel \u2014 which was carrying 305 people from Djibouti to Yemen \u2014 capsized north of the Djibouti town of Obock, according to a statement from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).<\/p>\n \u201cThis 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,\u201d said Alexandre Coissac, IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, in the statement.<\/p>\n He said IOM teams were on the ground alongside Djiboutian authorities to provide emergency aid.<\/p>\n \u201cThis tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities\u201d by trying to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen and then reach Gulf countries.<\/p>\n Among the 109 bodies recovered were 52 men, 42 women and 15 children \u2014 nine girls and six boys \u2014 the statement said.<\/p>\n More than 80 people survived the shipwreck, all Ethiopian nationals.<\/p>\n \u201cPoverty, insecurity and the growing impacts of climate change drive many to undertake this journey, despite mounting instability across the Middle East,\u201d the IOM said.<\/p>\n Yemen is stricken by fighting between the Saudi-backed government and Tehran-backed Houthi rebels, who have joined in the regional conflict involving the US and its allies against Iran.<\/p>\n The IOM said it was assisting 64 survivors at a migrant centre in Obock.<\/p>\n \u201cDjiboutian authorities are continuing search and rescue operations as fears grow for those still missing.\u201d<\/p>\n The IOM said that 178,000 people had arrived in Djibouti from Ethiopia from January to October this year.<\/p>\n In 2025, more than 900 migrants died or went missing along the sea route to Yemen and the number attempting the journey increased by 18 percent, it said.<\/p>\n A shipwreck in March 2026 left nine people dead and 45 missing.<\/p>\n IOM spokesman Kennedy Omondi Okoth told AFP this week that most of the people attempting the journey were from Ethiopia or Somalia.<\/p>\n He said many of them were ending up stuck in Djibouti.<\/p>\n The IOM\u00a0urged \u201cdonors and partners to strengthen support for Djibouti\u2019s response, including search and rescue operations and life-saving assistance\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n