At Least 250 Feared Missing, Including Children, After Boat Capsizes In Andaman Sea

Last Updated:April 14, 2026, 23:01 IST

The boat departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh and was on its way to Malaysia.

In a tragic incident, at least 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, news agency AFP reported.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the boat departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh and was on its way to Malaysia. It said that the boat reportedly capsized due to heavy winds, rough seas, and overcrowding.

“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," the UNHCR said in a statement.

Teknaf is a key transit point for Rohingya refugees attempting perilous sea journeys in search of better opportunities.

Each year, thousands of Rohingya — Myanmar’s persecuted Muslim minority — risk their lives by fleeing repression and civil war, often undertaking dangerous journeys by sea in overcrowded and makeshift boats.

The Rohingya on board this boat were likely leaving huge camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, where more than a million refugees forced to flee Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine live in squalid conditions.

Rakhine state itself has witnessed intense clashes, as fighting continues between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic rebel group, over control of the region.

The exact circumstances surrounding the latest incident were unclear, but preliminary information indicated that the vessel was carrying some 280 people and left Bangladesh on April 4.

“This tragic incident reflects the dire consequences of protracted displacement and the absence of durable solutions for the Rohingya," the UNHCR statement said.

It was also “a reminder of the efforts urgently needed to address the root causes of displacement in Myanmar and create conditions that would allow Rohingya refugees to return home voluntarily, safely and with dignity," it said.

In a related development, the Bangladesh Coast Guard said that a Bangladesh-flagged vessel, MT Meghna Pride, spotted several people floating in deep waters near the Andaman Islands at around 1 pm on April 9 while en route from Chattogram to Indonesia.

The ship’s crew launched a rescue operation and managed to save nine Bangladeshi nationals, eight men and one woman.

“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," BCG spokesman Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujan told AFP.

Relatively affluent Malaysia is home to millions of migrants from poorer parts of Asia, many of them undocumented, working in industries including construction and agriculture.

But sea crossings, facilitated by human trafficking syndicates, are hazardous and often lead to overloaded boats capsizing.

The Andaman Sea stretches along the western shores of Myanmar, Thailand and the Malay Peninsula.

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

(With inputs from AFP)

News world At Least 250 Feared Missing, Including Children, After Boat Capsizes In Andaman Sea

Read More