At least 139 dead after migrant boat capsizes off Djibouti

At least 139 migrants, including 15 children, died after a boat carrying 305 people capsized off Djibouti while traveling toward Yemen, the International Organization for Migration said Sunday.

The vessel overturned near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, during the night of Oct. 8-9, according to survivor accounts cited by the UN agency. About 82 people survived and 84 remained missing. The survivors were Ethiopian nationals, the IOM said.

The agency raised its initial death toll of 109 after another 30 bodies were recovered. Djiboutian authorities continued search-and-rescue operations while providing survivors with medical care and arranging burials. The IOM said it was assisting 64 survivors at its response center in Obock, including helping them restore contact with their families.

The passengers were using a migration route across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen, often taken by people from the Horn of Africa seeking work in Gulf countries. The crossing continues despite conflict in Yemen and renewed fighting in Ethiopia. The IOM said it had recorded more than 20,000 movements from Ethiopia into Djibouti since Sept. 10.