According to Liberty Times (CNA) on October 12, Al Jazeera and UN reporting, the accident occurred at sea near Guhere in eastern Djibouti. Al Jazeera said more than 300 people were aboard and the boat overturned between Thursday night and before dawn on Friday. Early counts put the dead at around 109; an IOM statement on Sunday raised it to 139 dead and 84 missing.

In its early report Al Jazeera said 15 of the dead were children and that more than 80 survivors, all Ethiopians, had been found. The cause of the capsizing is not stated in the reports we checked. Djiboutian search and rescue operations are continuing.

A route taken despite the danger

The boat was crossing the Bab al-Mandeb strait between Djibouti and Yemen, about 20 kilometres wide at its narrowest. It is the gateway of the so-called Eastern Route, used by migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking work and safety in Gulf states. IOM says more than half a million people tried to enter Yemen along it last year, and at least 900 died or went missing.

IOM's chief of mission in Djibouti, Alexandre Coissac, said teams were on the ground with local authorities providing emergency assistance and that the tragedy shows the dangers migrants face on this corridor. Al Jazeera noted that regional instability has not stopped the movement, including the war involving Iran and renewed fighting in Yemen between government forces and Houthi fighters since September.

IOM has recorded more than 20,000 incoming movements to Djibouti from Ethiopia since September 10. Djibouti is also a destination for people fleeing the renewed fighting in Yemen, adding to the strain on coastal patrol and rescue resources.

With each passing hour the chance of finding the 84 missing alive shrinks, and the death toll may yet rise. The tasks for the international community are identifying the dead and supporting families after rescue, cracking down on smuggling networks and offering safer migration routes.