New Delhi: More than 500 people are feared dead after two boats carrying members of Myanmar’s Rohingya minority have capsized in the Bay of Bengal. According to the UN agency’s the two boats had left Myanmar’s Rakhine state in late June carrying mostly Rohingya passengers.
What is the incident about?
According to preliminary information, both boats departed from Myanmar’s western Rakhine state in late June. Most of the passengers on board were from the Rohingya community.
Some of these people had started their journey from refugee camps on the Bangladesh border.
UN agencies fear over 500 people died, including Rohingya refugees, after reports of boats capsizing in recent weeks, reports AP. pic.twitter.com/tSpVBtFeTZ— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 16, 2026
What did the agency say?
ccording to a joint statement issued by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the first boat was carrying approximately 250 people. Contact with the boat was lost shortly after departure.
Meanwhile, a second boat carrying 280 people is believed to have capsized off the coast of Ayeyarwady, Myanmar, on July 8. A total of 530 people are missing on both boats, with little hope of survival.
The agencies said that while the incidents and casualty figures were yet to be officially confirmed, they were “gravely concerned” by the potentially catastrophic loss of life.
″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 agencies said.
