More than 500 feared dead as officials investigate reports of boats
capsizing with Rohingya refugees
[July 16, 2026]
By KRISTEN GELINEAU
SYDNEY (AP) — More than 500 people are feared dead after reports that
two boats carrying members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority
have capsized in the Bay of Bengal, officials said Thursday.
According to preliminary information, the two boats left Myanmar’s
western state of Rakhine in late June carrying mostly Rohingya
passengers, including some who had traveled from refugee camps across
the border in Bangladesh, according to a statement from the
International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees.
One boat, believed to have been carrying around 250 people, lost contact
shortly after departure. A second boat, reportedly carrying 280 people,
is believed to have sunk off Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady coast on July 8.
″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.
Acting police Brig. Gen. Soe Lin Aung, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s
Ministry of Home Affairs, declined to comment. Spokespeople for
Myanmar’s president and the Ayeyarwady region’s government did not
respond to requests for comment.
The Rohingya, who have in recent years fled both Myanmar and
Bangladesh’s squalid refugee camps by the thousands, typically avoid
such boat journeys at this time of year, when monsoons are frequent and
conditions at sea are particularly dangerous. The UNHCR and IOM noted
this in their statement, saying that recent torrential rain and flooding
across the region would have made such journeys especially risky.
Around 1.2 million stateless, predominantly Muslim Rohingya remain
trapped in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing waves
of violence by Myanmar’s security forces.
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The refugees have no way to safely return to Myanmar, where the
military that killed thousands of Rohingya in 2017 during what the
United States declared a genocide remains in charge of their
homeland. The Rohingya still living in Myanmar face severe
restrictions and many are confined to internment camps.
Steep cuts to foreign aid by the U.S. and other countries have led
to ration cuts in Bangladesh’s refugee camps, while the ruling
military and an ethnic armed organization in Rakhine have fought for
control of the region.
The unrest has led to an increasing number of Rohingya attempting to
make the dangerous ocean crossing to Malaysia on rickety boats.
Thousands have died in the process, including babies, children and
pregnant women. Local maritime authorities have frequently abandoned
the Rohingya at sea, often ignoring reports of boats in distress.
The IOM and UNHCR said on Thursday that the latest potential tragedy
at sea underscores the continued lack of sustainable solutions for
the Rohingya, and urged the international community to support those
trapped in Bangladesh’s camps.
“Stronger regional and international efforts are needed to prevent
further loss of life along one of the world’s deadliest maritime
routes, including through enhanced search and rescue efforts, access
to asylum and protection, and actions against smuggling and
trafficking networks,” the agencies said.
More than 6,500 Rohingya fled and nearly 900 were reported dead or
missing in 2025, the deadliest year for Rohingya who tried to leave
by boat. The figure represents the highest mortality rate of any
major route for refugee and migrant sea journeys in the world, the
UNHCR said.
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