A 305‑person vessel, overloaded with more than 300 passengers, was bound for Yemen when it slammed into the Gulf of Aden near Guhere on the night of Oct. 8‑9. The boat, whose occupants were largely Ethiopian, had already been denied entry into Yemen twice before attempting the crossing again.
Survivors told IOM’s chief of mission Alexandre Coissac that the craft began to sink backwards as soon as they boarded, a detail that has since defined the tragedy. Coissac described the incident as a "devastating loss of life" and noted that the official death toll rose to 139 after additional bodies were recovered.
Djiboutian authorities are still conducting search‑and‑rescue operations in the area, while IOM teams have moved 64 survivors to a migrant centre in the coastal town of Obock. The agency is also coordinating with local hospitals and local NGOs to provide emergency care.
IOM director‑general Amy Pope has called on governments and donors to increase funding for search‑and‑rescue missions and to create safer, legal migration pathways, arguing that "no one should risk their life without a viable, secure option." The organisation will issue a follow‑up report once the rescue operation winds down.