More than 500 people are feared dead after two boats carrying Rohingya refugees disappeared in the Bay of Bengal in recent weeks, the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR said in a joint statement Thursday. No survivors have been reported from either vessel so far, though the agencies stressed that casualty figures remain preliminary and have not yet been officially confirmed.
Both boats departed Rakhine State, western Myanmar, in late June. The agencies said they are "gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life." Casualty figures have not been officially confirmed by any government authority. This is not the first mass-casualty incident on this route this year — in April, around 250 people were feared dead when a trawler capsized in the Andaman Sea, with only nine survivors recovered.
Two vessels, two months, no confirmed toll
The first boat carried approximately 250 people, predominantly Rohingya, and lost contact shortly after leaving Rakhine in late June. It is presumed to have capsized. Some passengers reportedly traveled from refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, to board in Rakhine before departure.
The second boat carried approximately 280 people and is believed to have sunk off Myanmar's Ayeyarwady coast on July 8. Acting police Brig. Gen. Soe Lin Aung, spokesperson for Myanmar's Ministry of Home Affairs, declined to comment. Spokespeople for Myanmar's president and the Ayeyarwady regional government did not respond to requests for comment. No government has confirmed search-and-rescue operations for either vessel.
Observers are reading: Why no state has claimed rescue jurisdiction, and what that vacuum means for the next boat.
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The route with no exit
An estimated 1.2 million stateless Rohingya remain in Bangladesh's camps following the 2017 exodus from Myanmar, where aid cuts have reduced rations. Roughly 630,000 Rohingya still live in Rakhine under severe movement restrictions, as conflict between Myanmar's junta and the Arakan Army continues. The IOM and UNHCR called for "enhanced search and rescue efforts, access to asylum and protection, and actions against smuggling and trafficking networks," while acknowledging Bangladesh's "remarkable generosity" in hosting refugees for nearly a decade. Further updates as verified information becomes available.
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