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GENEVA: Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal last year, making it the deadliest year on record for the route, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.
More than one in seven of the estimated 6,500 Rohingya refugees who attempted the sea crossing last year were reported missing or dead, the highest mortality rate worldwide for refugee and migrant sea journeys, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva.
The dangerous sea crossings have continued this year, with more than 2,800 Rohingya embarking on such journeys up until April 13, Baloch said.
In recent years, more than half of those attempting the crossings have been women and children, UNHCR said.
“No one would put their family on a risky boat, knowing that the chances of survival are really low, if the sense of desperation is not there,” Babar Baloch said.
Deadly maritime journeys have become a recurring feature of a long-running humanitarian crisis resulting from conflict in Myanmar, as members of the Rohingya Muslim minority continue to risk their lives on overcrowded, unseaworthy boats.
Their departures are driven by violence at home and desperate conditions in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. They hope to reach safety and opportunity in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand.
This week, the UN agencies said around 250 people were missing after a boat that departed from Teknaf, in southern Bangladesh, carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis capsized in Andaman Sea.
Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2026
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