Staff Reporter:
At least 530 Rohingyas are feared dead after two boats sank off Myanmar’s coast in the Bay of Bengal, according to a joint statement issued on Thursday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The statement said the two boats departed from the Bay of Bengal coast of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, near the Bangladesh border, in late June. One boat was carrying around 250 passengers, while the other had about 260 on board.
The passengers included Rohingya from Myanmar as well as several Rohingya refugees living in camps in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
About two weeks after setting sail, the boats capsized off the coast of Ayeyarwady on 8 July. According to the IOM and UNHCR, communication with the boats was lost after they reached the Ayeyarwady coast.
The boat carrying around 250 passengers sank first, followed shortly afterwards by the second vessel.
The agencies said the boats’ intended destination has not been confirmed. However, it is believed they were heading to either Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand, as the maritime route they were following leads to those countries.
