More than 500 people are feared dead after two boats carrying mainly Rohingya refugees capsized off the coast of Myanmar since late June, according to the United Nations.
The International Organization for Migration and UNHCR reported the two vessels may have sunk after departing Myanmar's Rakhine State. One boat, carrying roughly 250 people, lost contact shortly after departure, while a second vessel with about 280 aboard is believed to have sunk off the Ayeyarwady coast on 8 July.
The vessels were largely carrying members of the Rohingya minority fleeing conflict and worsening humanitarian conditions in Myanmar, compounded by limited support in refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were already reported missing or dead at sea in the northern Indian Ocean in 2025, underscoring the growing peril of maritime escape routes.