139 dead, 116 missing after migrant boat capsizes en route to Yemen
In Short
At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, died and 116 remain missing after a vessel carrying 350 people capsized off Obock, Djibouti, bound for Yemen.
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139 dead, 116 missing after migrant boat capsizes en route to Yemen
Djibouti: At least 139 migrants, including children, died and 116 went missing after a boat carrying around 350 people capsized off Djibouti while travelling to Yemen overnight on October 8-9, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday. Survivors said the vessel capsized north of the coastal town of Obock, according to the UN agency.
More than 80 people survived, all of them Ethiopian nationals. Among the 109 bodies recovered were 52 men, 42 women and 15 children, including nine girls and six boys, the IOM said.
“This is a devastating loss of life," said Alexandre Coissac, the IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti, adding that the agency was working with Djiboutian authorities to provide emergency assistance. The agency said 64 survivors were receiving assistance at a migrant centre in Obock, while search and rescue operations continued.
