More than 500, mostly Rohingya, feared dead in waters off Myanmar, says UN

More than 500 people, most of whom belong to the persecuted Rohingya community, are feared dead after two boats carrying them capsized off Myanmar in recent days, two UN agencies said on Thursday.

A joint statement by the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the two vessels departed from Myanmar's Rakhine state in late June carrying mostly Rohingya passengers, including some who are said to have traveled from refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

One boat, carrying around 250 people, "lost contact shortly after departure," it said, adding that the second boat, reportedly carrying some 280 people, "is believed to have sunk off Myanmar's Ayeyarwady coast on 8 July."

"While the incidents and casualty figures have yet to be officially confirmed," the statement said the UN refugee agency and the IOM "are gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life."

"Most were Rohingya passengers risking dangerous sea journeys in search of safety," the UN Refugee Agency said on the US social media company X.

Persecuted at home by Burmese junta and other ethnic groups, Rohingya community members have been fleeing Myanmar to safe places in Bangladesh, Indonesia as well as Myanmar.