Nearly 250 people, including children, feared missing after boat capsizes in Andaman Sea, says UN

Nearly 250 people, including children, were feared missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea, the United Nations (UN) said on Tuesday, AFP reported.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in a statement, said, "The trawler, which departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh and was on its way to Malaysia, reportedly sank due to heavy winds, rough seas, and overcrowding."

Every year, thousands of Rohingyas, Myanmar's persecuted Muslim minority, risk their lives as they flee repression and civil war in their country. These refugees travel by sea, often in makeshift boats.

According to the report, Rohingyas aboard this latest boat were likely fleeing huge camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, where over a million refugees, who are forced to leave Myanmar's Rakhine, live in squalid conditions.

BCG rescues nine after trawler sinks

While the exact circumstances regarding the latest incident are unclear, preliminary information indicated that the vessel was carrying roughly 280 people and left Bangladesh on April 4.

The Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) noted that on April 9, one of its ships, which was on its way to Indonesia, managed to rescue as many as nine people from the sea, including a woman.

Speaking to AFP, BCG spokesman Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujan said, "The Bangladeshi flag carrier M.T. Meghna Pride... spotted several people floating in the sea using drums and logs and rescued them from deep waters near the Andaman Islands."

According to The Daily Star, those rescued were later handed over to the Bangladesh Coast Guard’s patrol ship Mansur Ali around midnight.

Survivor recalls harrowing account

Recalling the harrowing account, Rafiqul Islam, one of the survivors, told AFP that he was lured onto the boat by traffickers who promised him a job in Malaysia. According to The Daily Star, he noted that he was later taken to a house in the Rajarchhara area of Teknaf’s Kachhopia union, where he was confined with 20 to 25 others in inhumane conditions. He further alleged that victims were subjected to abuse whenever they tried to escape, adding that several houses in the area were used to confine trafficked individuals.

"A number of us were kept in the holding area of the trawler, and some died there. I was burned by oil that spilled from the trawler," said Rafiqul, 40, adding that the vessel travelled for four days before it capsized. "We floated for nearly 36 hours before a ship rescued us from deep water."

Describing the poor conditions, Rafiqul said more passengers were loaded onto the vessel, which brought the total to roughly 280. This included 13 crew members and traffickers, 21 Rohingya women, and four children. Roughly 150 passengers were Rohingya, while the rest were Bangladeshi.

After leaving waters near Shamila in Myanmar (near St Martin’s Island) on April 4, the trawler reached near the Andaman Islands on April 8. Due to rough seas, traffickers allegedly forced passengers into four cramped storage compartments meant for fish and nets.

He claimed that as many as 25 to 30 people died from suffocation and overcrowding, and alleged that traffickers threatened to sink the vessel if those on deck did not cooperate and move into the compartments.

Rafiqul noted that he survived by clinging to a two-litre water bottle but could not say what happened to the others. He was later rescued along with eight others on April 9.

UNHCR's remarks on boat capsizing

The UNHCR noted the latest incident reflected the "dire consequences of protracted displacement and the absence of durable solutions for the Rohingya." The agency added that the tragedy serves as a reminder of the efforts that are urgently needed to address the root causes of displacement in Myanmar and create conditions that would permit Rohingyas to return home voluntarily and safely.

Last year, the UNHCR said that 427 Rohingya were feared dead at sea in two shipwrecks off the Myanmar coast in May.