At least 15 children were among 109 migrants who died while 116 others went missing after a boat sank off the coast of Djibouti on Oct. 8, a U.N. agency said Sunday.
Survivors said the vessel, carrying 350 people from Djibouti to Yemen, capsized north of Obock, Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement.
“This is a devastating loss of life. Our thoughts are with the survivors and the families who have lost loved ones or remain without news of their relatives,” Alexandre Coissac, IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, said in the statement.
He said IOM teams were on the ground alongside Djiboutian authorities to provide emergency aid.
Coissac added, “This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities by trying to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen and reach Gulf countries.”
The statement said the 109 bodies recovered included 52 men, 42 women and 15 children (nine girls and six boys).
More than 80 people survived the shipwreck, all Ethiopian nationals.
“Poverty, insecurity and the growing impacts of climate change drive many to make this journey, despite mounting instability across the Middle East,” the IOM said.
