The United Nations warned on Thursday that more than 500 people are feared dead after two boats carrying mostly Rohingya refugees capsized off the coast of Myanmar in late June and early July, in what could become one of the deadliest maritime disasters involving the persecuted Muslim minority in years.
The International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency said in a joint statement that both vessels departed from Rakhine State in late June carrying predominantly Rohingya passengers, with some reportedly having travelled from the vast Cox’s Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh, where more than one million displaced Rohingya live in overcrowded conditions.
The first boat, carrying approximately 250 people, lost contact shortly after departure from Rakhine State. A second vessel carrying approximately 280 people is believed to have sunk off Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady coast on July 8. Both journeys took place outside the regular sailing season, during which monsoon rains and flooding have made conditions significantly more hazardous.
UNHCR and IOM said casualty figures had yet to be officially confirmed but described the agencies as gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life. If confirmed, the two sinkings would add to the nearly 300 people already reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal this year. Nearly 900 Rohingya were reported missing or dead at sea in 2025 alone.
The statement called the tragedies an indictment of protracted conflict, displacement and the continued absence of sustainable solutions for Rohingya communities.
