DHAKA, Bangladesh
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, feared Friday that 427 Rohingya perished at sea after two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month in search of safe refuge.
Reports suggested that 514 Rohingya were traveling on two boats. Details are still being confirmed, UNHCR said in a statement.
The first boat carried 267 people. Among them, more than half reportedly left from refugee camps in southeastern Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh while the remainder departed from Rakhine State in Myanmar. The boat sank May 9, with 66 survivors.
Bangladesh is hosting more than 1.3 million persecuted Rohingya Muslims since they fled a Myanmar military crackdown in August 2017.
The second boat carried 247 Rohingya, also refugees from Cox’s Bazar camps and those fleeing Rakhine State, and capsized May 10, with 21 survivors.
Nearly 1 of 5 people attempting perilous sea movements in the region have been reported dead or missing in 2025, making the waters of the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal among the deadliest in the world.
UNHCR said there were reports of a third boat carrying 188 Rohingya, which was intercepted leaving Myanmar on May 14.
“The dire humanitarian situation, exacerbated by funding cuts, is having a devastating impact on the lives of Rohingya, with more and more resorting to dangerous journeys to seek safety, protection and a dignified life for themselves and their families,” said Hai Kyung Jun, director of UNHCR’s regional bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
The annual monsoon season has arrived in the region, bringing strong winds, rainfall and rough seas, saw the boats traveling at a particularly dangerous time, reflecting the desperation of those making the journeys.
UNHCR calls on authorities in the region and the global community to take urgent action to prevent future tragedies as saving lives and rescuing those in distress at sea is a humanitarian imperative and a longstanding duty under international maritime law.
It also sought financial assistance to provide life-saving assistance to Rohingya refugees as UNHCR only received 30% of what it requires to stabilize the lives of refugees and their host communities across Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and those displaced inside Myanmar.
UNHCR requires $383.1 million in 2025 to So far, it added.
