GENEVA, Switzerland – More than 500 people, most of them believed to be Rohingya refugees fleeing conflict in Myanmar, are feared dead after two overcrowded boats disappeared in rough seas off the country’s coast, according to a joint statement released Thursday by the United Nations’ refugee and migration agencies.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said one boat carrying about 250 people lost contact shortly after departing from Myanmar’s western Rakhine State in late June. A second vessel, carrying an estimated 280 passengers, is believed to have sunk off the coast of Ayeyarwady Region on July 8.
The UN agencies stressed that the incidents have yet to be officially confirmed but said they are “gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life.”
If confirmed, the disappearances would rank among the deadliest maritime tragedies involving Rohingya refugees in recent years.
According to the IOM and UNHCR, some of those feared dead had traveled from the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, before attempting the dangerous sea crossing. The agencies said the voyages occurred outside the regular sailing season, when rough seas and severe weather significantly increase the risks of maritime travel.
Heavy rainfall and widespread flooding across the region have further worsened conditions. Last week, torrential rains triggered deadly landslides and flooding in Cox’s Bazar, destroying shelters and killing more than a dozen people, including children.
The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority from Myanmar’s Rakhine State who have endured decades of discrimination, persecution and violence. Myanmar has long denied them citizenship, effectively rendering most of them stateless. In 2022, the United States formally determined that the Myanmar military had committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya.
According to Human Rights Watch, more than one million Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh, where most live in overcrowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. Around 630,000 remain in Rakhine State despite ongoing insecurity and humanitarian challenges.
The humanitarian crisis has intensified since Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup in February 2021, triggering a nationwide civil war. The conflict between the ruling military junta and various resistance groups, including the Arakan Army, has displaced millions of people and severely restricted access to food, healthcare and humanitarian assistance across the country.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), an independent conflict monitoring organization, estimates that at least 100,000 people have been killed since the conflict escalated following the coup.
Faced with deteriorating conditions and limited prospects for safety or resettlement, many Rohingya continue to risk dangerous sea journeys across the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal in search of protection and a better future in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
The IOM and UNHCR reported that nearly 300 people have already died or gone missing along the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal this year, underscoring the dangers of what they described as one of the world’s deadliest maritime migration routes.
“These reports underscore the devastating impact of protracted conflict and displacement, as well as the continued lack of sustainable solutions for Rohingya communities,” the agencies said in their joint statement.
The UN agencies urged governments across the region and the international community to strengthen search and rescue operations, ensure access to asylum and international protection for refugees, and intensify efforts to combat human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in the region.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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