139 people dead, including 15 children, after migrant boat capsizes off Africa: “Overwhelmed with all the bodies”

Updated on: October 12, 2026 / 6:45 AM EDT / CBS/AP

At least 139 people, including children, have died after a boat carrying more than 300 migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti in east Africa, the International Organization for Migration said Sunday.

"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 a statement.

That number only includes those buried by authorities in Djibouti. Others have been buried by the migrants themselves, but they won't be added to the official count until authorities can verify the bodies, Coissac told the AP via the phone.

"What is terrible is that they were buried with no names, in a common grave, like in a war situation," Coissac said. "They all have a mother, a father, and we may never learn what happened."

Coissac said the migrants boarded the ship in the evening of Oct. 8 and that it sank very soon after, close to the shore, "mainly because it was overcrowded."

"The local authorities did their best," Coissac said, "but they were overwhelmed…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/