At least 139 migrants, including children, die after boat capsizes off Djibouti

At least 139 people, including children, have died after a boat carrying 305 migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti in east Africa, the International Organization for Migration said Sunday.

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At least 84 people remained missing in one of the deadliest shipwrecks yet on the popular but perilous crossing from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, where many migrants seek work in rich Gulf nations.

The boat was traveling from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized on Thursday night or Friday morning, according to the IOM. More than 80 people survived, all of them Ethiopian nationals, it said.

Personal items likely belonging to the migrants, including shoes, were seen on a beach in a video shared by IOM. Rescue work continued as fears grew for the missing.

Tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa travel every year through Djibouti and across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait towards Gulf countries in search of safety and economic opportunities, the IOM said in its statement.

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That movement has continued despite newly escalating fighting in Yemen, on the other side of the strait.

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“This is a devastating loss of life,” said Alexandre Coissac, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti. “This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities.”

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“No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said. “We cannot keep treating these deaths as normal. Safe and legal pathways save lives. I am asking governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down.”

Over 900 migrants died or went missing along the route last year, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.

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