More than 500 people may have died in two shipwrecks off Myanmar, United Nations agencies said on Thursday. The boats carried mainly Rohingya passengers. Both vessels left Myanmar’s conflict-hit Rakhine State in late June.
One boat carried about 250 people. Authorities lost contact with it soon after departure, the agencies said. The second vessel carried about 280 people. It sank off Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady coast on July 8.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration have not confirmed the final death toll.
Some passengers came from refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. More than one million Rohingya live there after fleeing Myanmar.
The boats sailed outside the usual travel season. Heavy rain and floods also made the route more dangerous.
The two incidents could add to this year’s toll in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. Nearly 300 people have already died or gone missing there, the agencies said.
Read: UN urged to punish Myanmar army over Rohingya ‘atrocities’
UNHCR recorded nearly 900 Rohingya deaths or disappearances at sea in 2025. More than 6,500 people attempted the journey that year.
The UN agencies urged regional authorities to expand rescue operations. They also called for asylum access and stronger action against trafficking networks.
