At least eight people have died and 22 others remain missing after a boat carrying approximately 150 migrants, likely en route to Yemen, was intercepted by smugglers and its passengers forced overboard on June 5.
“These young people were forced into impossible choices by smugglers who show no regard for human life,” said Celestine Frantz, Regional Director for the East, Horn and Southern Africa at the UN migration agency. “We are doing everything we can to support the survivors and prevent further loss along this deadly route.”
Search and rescue operations, backed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), have so far recovered five bodies from waters near Moulhoulé in northern Djibouti. The official death toll currently stands at eight, though authorities fear it may rise as the search continues.
In the days following the incident, IOM’s mobile patrols discovered many of the survivors wandering the desert. These individuals are now receiving emergency medical attention at a nearby hospital and psychosocial support at IOM’s Migrant Response Center in Obock.
Every year, thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa undertake perilous journeys through Yemen to the Gulf States, seeking better economic opportunities.
“This latest tragedy is part of a series of fatal maritime incidents off the coast of Djibouti, underscoring the urgent need for stronger protection mechanisms for migrants along the migration route between the Horn of Africa and Yemen,” the IOM stated.
Citing the growing number of such tragedies, the agency has reiterated its call for increased international backing to bolster search and rescue efforts and broaden access to safe and legal migration pathways.
In a related report, IOM confirmed that the bodies of 10 migrants were discovered washed ashore near Marsa Matrouh, Egypt.
The deceased are believed to have departed from Libya, a known launch point for human smugglers ferrying migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe.
According to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, over 32,000 people have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014, “with an unknown number still missing.”
