UN Confirms 250 People Missing After Andaman Sea Boat Disaster
DHAKA — About 250 people, including children, are feared missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
The trawler departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh bound for Malaysia. It reportedly sank due to heavy winds, rough seas, and overcrowding, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The vessel was carrying approximately 280 people and left Bangladesh on April 4.
The Bangladesh Coast Guard said one of its ships rescued nine people from the sea on April 9 near the Andaman Islands. One survivor, Rafiqul Islam, 40, told AFP that traffickers lured him aboard with a promise of a job in Malaysia. He said some people died in the trawler’s holding area, and he was burned by spilled oil. The group floated for nearly 36 hours before being rescued.
Thousands of Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar, risk the dangerous sea journey each year to escape repression and civil war. Many live in squalid camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, where more than a million refugees are housed.
The UNHCR said the incident reflects the “dire consequences of protracted displacement and the absence of durable solutions for the Rohingya,” urging efforts to address the root causes of displacement in Myanmar.
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