By Rob Johnson & Darryl Coote UPI | Posted by TOE

 At least 139 people died and 84 were missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the United Nations’ migration agency said Sunday.

Survivors said the incident happened off Djibouti’s coast in the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandeb strait late Thursday and early Friday, according to a statement form the International Organization for Migration

The agency said the boat was carrying 305 people from the Horn African nation towards Yemen when it sank.

“No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a statement. “We cannot keep treating these deaths as normal. Safe and legal pathways save lives. I am asking governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down.”

Men, women and children were among those on the boat, with at least 15 children among the dead, according to the IOM, which said it expects the death toll to rise.

Djiboutian authorities were carrying out search and recovery operations, the IOM said, adding that it was providing emergency assistance to survivors.