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Record Number of Rohingya Refugees Died at Sea Last Year, UNHCR Says
UNHCR said more than one in seven of 6,500 sea crossers were reported missing or dead, the highest mortality rate on the route.
- On Friday, the United Nations refugee agency reported 2025 was the deadliest year on record, with nearly 900 Rohingya refugees dead or missing in the Andaman Sea. More than 2,800 have embarked on dangerous sea journeys between January and April 13, 2026.
- Ongoing conflict in Myanmar's Rakhine state forces refugees to flee squalid conditions in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar. UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch stressed that "ongoing conflict, persecution and the absence of citizenship prospects leave them with little hope."
- A boat carrying about 280 people capsized in the Andaman Sea on April 8, leaving hundreds missing. In 2025, one in seven Rohingya attempting the crossing were reported missing or dead, marking the world's highest mortality rate for such journeys.
- UNHCR has requested $200 million this year to support those in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char, though the initiative is currently only 32% funded. These sea routes have become an "unmarked graveyard for thousands" since 2012, with more than 5,000 deaths recorded.
- To prevent 2026 from becoming another deadly year, the UN agency is calling on states to "address the root causes of displacement, expand safe and legal pathways, and strengthen regional cooperation to save lives and combat smuggling and trafficking.
16 Articles
16 Articles
‘Record number’ of Rohingya refugees died at sea last year
GENEVA - Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal in 2025, making it the deadliest year on record for the route, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees dead, missing in shipwrecks in 2025: United Nations
"In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal," the United Nations refugee agency's spokesman Babar Baloch told a press briefing in Geneva
The Express Tribune
The Straits TimesRohingya sea crossings hit record death toll in 2025, UNHCR says
Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal in 2025, 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 Balo…
Rohingya sea crossings claim nearly 900 lives in 2025, UN says
GENEVA, April 17 — Last year was the deadliest on record for Rohingya refugees fleeing by sea, with deaths continuing to soar in 2026, the UN said Friday, after hundreds were lost in a shipwreck earlier this month.“In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal,” the United Nations refugee agency’s spokesman Babar Baloch told a press briefing in Geneva.That marks “the deadliest year on re…
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