500 feared dead as Rohingya boats sink off Myanmar: UN
Two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off Myanmar’s coast in recent days, UN agencies said on Thursday, as refugees from the war-torn country make perilous maritime journeys in search of safety and better lives.
The two vessels left Myanmar’s Rakhine State in late June carrying mostly ethnic minority Rohingya passengers, reportedly including some from refugee camps in Bangladesh, the International Organisation for Migration and the UN’s refugee agency said in a joint statement, citing preliminary information.
More than 500 were feared dead, the statement added.
“The UNHCR and the IOM are gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life,” it said. Driven away by violence at home, Myanmar’s long-persecuted Rohingya Muslims have for years risked their lives on flimsy wooden vessels, hoping to reach safety and the opportunity of livelihoods in countries such as Malaysia.
