than 500 people are feared dead in two major boat accidents off the coast of Myanmar. The United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration jointly shared this alarming information.
According to reports, most of the passengers on the two boats were from the Rohingya community. Preliminary information suggests that both boats began their journey from Myanmar’s Rakhine State at the end of last June. The second boat is suspected to have sunk near the Ayeyarwady coast of Myanmar on July 8.
It is reported that the first boat was carrying around 250 people and the second boat around 280 people. Contact with both boats has been completely lost. The incident is believed to have occurred due to heavy rainfall, floods, and rough sea conditions prevailing in the region.
Since the military crackdown in 2017, lakhs of Rohingya have fled Myanmar and taken shelter in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. According to the United Nations, nearly 300 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals have lost their lives or gone missing this year alone while attempting to flee via the dangerous routes of the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
Calling the entire situation “extremely sensitive” from a humanitarian perspective, UN agencies have expressed deep concern.
