The UN migration agency (IOM) and UN refugee agency (UNHCR) have raised alarm over two recent shipwrecks off Myanmar’s coast, with more than 500 people feared dead. Both vessels departed from Myanmar’s Rakhine state in late June. Contact was lost with one boat carrying approximately 250 people shortly after departure, while a second boat with 280 people is believed to have sunk off Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady coast on 8 July 2026.

Most passengers were ethnic Rohingya from Rakhine state, a group that has faced decades of persecution by Myanmar authorities. Some passengers had also traveled from Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, home to around one million Rohingya who fled violence in 2017.

UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh noted that hundreds have already lost their lives in the same region and seas this year. Prior to these incidents, nearly 300 people had been reported missing or drowned in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, including Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals.

Recent torrential rains and flooding across the region are believed to have increased the dangers of sea crossings. Saltmarsh also highlighted that funding cuts have made conditions increasingly difficult for those remaining in Cox’s Bazar.

The boats involved in these journeys are often overcrowded and ill-equipped for the high seas, compounding the risks faced by passengers.

Sources