(REUTERS) Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal in 2025, making it the deadliest year on record for the route, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday (April 17).

More than one in seven of the estimated 6,500 Rohingya refugees who attempted the sea crossing last year were reported missing or dead, marking the highest mortality rate worldwide for refugee and migrant sea journeys, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva.

Deadly maritime journeys have become a recurring feature of a long-running humanitarian crisis, as members of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority continue to risk their lives on overcrowded, unseaworthy boats in search of safety and opportunity.

Their departures are driven by violence at home and desperate conditions in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, hoping to reach safety and opportunity in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand.

In recent years, over half of those attempting these crossings have been women and children, UNHCR said.

Perilous journeys are continuing, with more than 2,800 Rohingya having taken dangerous sea journeys between January and 13 April this year, Baloch stated.

"This sad and tragic trend continues, this sense of desperation among the Rohingya population," said Baloch.

Around 250 people were reported missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea after departing from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh, the United Nations' refugee and migration ‌agencies said in a joint statement on Tuesday (April 17).

Posted by: AAngeles/NET25 News