2 Rohingya boats feared sunk in Myanmar, 500+ feared dead
IOM and UNHCR say one vessel lost contact after leaving Rakhine, while another was believed to capsize off Ayeyarwady on 8 July.
More than 500 people, most of them Rohingya refugees, are feared dead after two boats were believed to have sunk off the coast of Myanmar since late June. IOM and UNHCR said both boats left Rakhine State, Myanmar, with some passengers also from the Cox's Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh. The first boat, believed to be carrying about 250 people, lost contact shortly after departing. The second, with about 280 people aboard, was believed to have sunk off the coast of Ayeyarwady on 8 July. The two U.N. agencies said the incidents and death toll have not been officially verified, but warned the tragedy could rank among the deadliest for Rohingya this year. They also pointed to bad weather, Myanmar's prolonged conflict and smuggler activity as factors driving risky journeys in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.