JAKARTA - IOM and UNHCR said on July 16 that more than 500 people, mostly Rohingya, were feared dead in two possible boat capsizings off Myanmar.
Preliminary information indicates that both vessels left Rakhine State in late June, reportedly carrying some passengers who had travelled from refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. One boat, believed to have about 250 people aboard, lost contact soon after departure.
A second vessel carrying about 280 people is believed to have sunk off Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady coast on July 8. The agencies said the incidents and casualty figures had not been officially confirmed, according to their July 16 joint statement.
Reuters reported that Rohingya passengers commonly take maritime routes towards Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand. The journeys took place outside the regular sailing season, when maritime conditions are generally more hazardous.
IOM and UNHCR said recent torrential rain and flooding had increased the risks. If verified, the incidents would add to nearly 300 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals already reported dead or missing in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal in 2026.
“Stronger regional and international efforts are needed to prevent further loss of life along one of the world’s deadliest maritime routes,” the agencies said.
UNHCR said in an April 17 briefing that more than 6,500 Rohingya attempted sea crossings in 2025 and nearly 900 were reported dead or missing.
That represented about one in seven people attempting the crossings and the highest mortality rate recorded on any major refugee and migrant maritime route that year. More than half of those making the journeys in recent years were women and children.
The same briefing said more than 1.3 million Rohingya refugees and asylum-seekers remained displaced across the region, including 1.2 million in Bangladesh. Boats commonly leave Cox’s Bazar or Rakhine State for Indonesia or Malaysia, often carrying passengers in overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels.
“While recognizing Bangladesh’s remarkable generosity in hosting Rohingya refugees for many years, UNHCR and IOM call for sustained international support for Rohingya refugees and the communities hosting them, alongside greater efforts to address the underlying drivers of forced displacement,” the agencies said in the July 16 joint statement.
