About 250 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants, including children, are missing after their boat capsized last week in the Andaman Sea, according to the United Nations’ refugee and migration agencies.
What happened
The trawler departed from Bangladesh bound for Malaysia and “reportedly sank due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding,” the UN agencies said. The Bangladesh Coast Guard told AFP that one of its ships rescued nine people from the vessel on April 9. It remains unclear exactly when the boat capsized.
Survivor Rafiqul Islam told AFP he floated for nearly 24 hours before being rescued, according to BBC reporting. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration issued a joint statement on the incident.
Rohingya crisis
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, one of Myanmar’s ethnic minorities who are denied citizenship by the government, have been fleeing into Bangladesh since a deadly military crackdown in 2017. Poor living conditions in overcrowded refugee camps have pushed some to attempt dangerous sea crossings to Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country many see as a potential safe haven.
The Andaman Sea route between the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia has seen numerous deadly incidents involving overloaded migrant vessels. The latest tragedy underscores the continuing humanitarian crisis affecting the Rohingya population across the region.
The incident is one of the deadliest migrant boat disasters in the Andaman Sea in recent years.
