A boat packed with migrants sailing from Djibouti toward Yemen sank in open water during the night of October 8 into 9, and the United Nations now counts at least 139 people dead with more than 80 still missing. The UN reported the disaster in the sea close to the Djiboutian coast, where the vessel went down with its passengers in the dark. The people on board were part of a steady flow of migrants from the Horn of Africa who cross the Gulf of Aden hoping to reach Yemen and, eventually, work in the Gulf states. Smugglers routinely cram far too many travelers into flimsy boats for that journey, and the crossing takes lives year after year. Rescue teams have since been combing the water for anyone who might have survived the sinking. Aid agencies note that many who travel this route are never registered, so the final death toll may end up higher than the current count. The UN has kept warning that conflict and poverty will push people onto unsafe boats for as long as the pressures at home remain.