GENEVA — More than 500 people are feared dead after two boats carrying mostly Rohingya refugees reportedly disappeared or capsized off Myanmar's coast, prompting renewed warnings from United Nations agencies that worsening conflict, displacement and shrinking humanitarian assistance are driving increasingly dangerous sea crossings.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Thursday they were investigating reports that two vessels carrying more than 500 people may have been lost after departing Myanmar's Rakhine State in late June.
According to the agencies' preliminary information, one boat carrying about 250 people lost contact shortly after leaving, while another, believed to have been carrying around 280 passengers, is thought to have sunk off Myanmar's Ayeyarwady coast on July 8. The passengers were reported to be mostly Rohingya, including some who had traveled from refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
The agencies stressed that the information remains under investigation and that efforts are continuing to verify the circumstances surrounding the incidents and determine the fate of those aboard.
In a joint statement, IOM and UNHCR said they were "deeply concerned" by the reports and called for stronger regional cooperation on maritime search-and-rescue operations and protection for refugees undertaking dangerous journeys across the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
The Rohingya, a largely stateless Muslim minority from Myanmar's Rakhine State, have faced decades of discrimination and restrictions on movement. Hundreds of thousands fled to neighboring Bangladesh following a 2017 military campaign, while many others remain displaced inside Myanmar. Continued conflict in Rakhine, combined with deteriorating living conditions and reduced humanitarian assistance, has pushed more refugees to attempt hazardous sea voyages organized by smuggling networks, according to U.N. agencies.
UNHCR said nearly 900 Rohingya were reported dead or missing during maritime crossings in 2025, making the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea among the world's deadliest refugee routes. The agency said more than 5,400 Rohingya have attempted similar journeys so far in 2026, with hundreds already reported dead or missing before the latest incidents.
The U.N. agencies urged governments in the region to uphold international maritime obligations, strengthen search-and-rescue coordination and expand protection for refugees while pursuing longer-term solutions to address the causes of displacement. Investigations into the reported maritime disasters remain ongoing.
