427 Rohingya Feared Dead in Myanmar Sea Tragedy

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archives January 2023

 

Up to 427 Rohingya refugees are feared drowned after two boats capsized off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month, in what the United Nations is calling the deadliest maritime disaster involving Rohingya this year.

 

The twin tragedies occurred on 9 and 10 May, with the vessels carrying hundreds fleeing war and persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and Bangladesh’s overcrowded refugee camps. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, confirmed that only 87 survivors have been accounted for.

 

“The UN Refugee Agency is gravely concerned,” said Hai Kyung Jun, UNHCR’s regional director for Asia and the Pacific. “These deaths were preventable, and highlight a deepening humanitarian emergency.”

 

According to preliminary information, the first boat, carrying 267 people, sank on 9 May with just 66 survivors. The second vessel, with 247 aboard, capsized the following day — only 21 people made it out alive.

 

The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, continue to flee persecution, violence and collapsing humanitarian support. In Rakhine, renewed fighting between the military junta and the Arakan Army has made life even more precarious for civilians. Meanwhile, cuts to aid in camps like Cox’s Bazar are pushing many to take desperate measures.

 

UNHCR reported that 657 Rohingya lost their lives at sea in 2024, a toll now set to climb sharply.

 

The UN is urging regional governments to boost search and rescue capabilities, offer protection, and address the drivers of displacement. Without decisive action, the agency warns, more Rohingya will be lost to the sea — victims not just of shipwreck, but of global indifference.

 

 

-2025-02-26