Over 500 Rohingya feared dead after 2 boats sink off Myanmar

The two vessels, carrying about 530 people from Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority, lost contact in late June and early July while attempting the world's deadliest migrant sea crossing toward Malaysia, UN agencies said.

"While the incidents and casualty figures have yet to be officially confirmed, UNHCR and IOM are gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life," the International Organization for Migration and UN Refugee Agency said in a joint statement.

The first boat, believed to have carried around 250 people, lost contact shortly after departing Myanmar's Rakhine state in late June. A second vessel with an estimated 280 passengers capsized off the Ayeyarwady coast on July 8. Both appeared to be heading to Malaysia, an IOM spokeswoman said. Some passengers had traveled from Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, the world's largest refugee camp housing more than 1 million Rohingya.

Last year, 860 of the 6,500 Rohingya who attempted the crossing were reported missing or dead — the highest mortality rate of any major migrant sea route globally, according to UNHCR data. The route across the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal now ranks behind only the Mediterranean and the West Africa-Canary Islands passage in total deaths. So far in 2026, nearly 300 people have been reported missing or dead in the same waters, including Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals.

The journeys occurred outside the regular sailing season, when monsoon rains and rough seas make conditions especially hazardous. Recent torrential rain and flooding across the region further increased the risks, the agencies said. In late March, another ship sank with an estimated 260 people on board, underscoring the rising toll on one of the world's most dangerous maritime migration routes.

The Rohingya exodus began in earnest in 2017, when more than 730,000 members of the Muslim minority fled a military-led campaign of murder, rape and arson that the U.S. declared a genocide. Myanmar has denied the allegations. The 2021 military coup intensified fighting in Rakhine state, driving more Rohingya to flee both Myanmar and the overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, where they face severe restrictions on movement and employment.

Conditions in Cox's Bazar have deteriorated sharply after the Trump administration shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development and other Western governments cut funding. Aid groups have slashed rations for food-insecure refugees to as little as $7 a month, pushing more to attempt the dangerous crossing despite the risks. The Rohingya still living in Myanmar face internment camps and are denied citizenship.

The UN agencies urged stronger regional and international efforts to prevent further loss of life, including enhanced search and rescue operations, access to asylum and protection, and action against smuggling and trafficking networks that exploit desperate passengers. Bangladesh, which has hosted Rohingya refugees for years, needs sustained international support as funding shortfalls deepen the humanitarian crisis, the agencies said.

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