According to data released by the United Nations on the 17th, 2025 marks the deadliest year for Rohingya refugees fleeing by sea.
AFP reports that, due to ongoing turmoil in Myanmar and worsening living conditions in refugee camps, nearly 900 people died or went missing in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal last year.
UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said at a press conference that over 6,500 Rohingya attempted the dangerous sea crossing last year, with one in every seven reported missing or dead.
He pointed out that this is the deadliest among all major refugee and migrant sea routes worldwide.
● Limited humanitarian assistance provided by Bangladesh
More than one million Rohingya are living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Most are Muslims who fled Myanmar to escape violent military crackdowns since 2017.
Baloch noted that Bangladesh provides limited humanitarian aid, and, along with unsafe camp environments and a lack of education and livelihood opportunities, refugees are forced to risk dangerous journeys in search of a better life.
He estimated that since 2012, nearly 200,000 Rohingya refugees have "set out on these dangerous sea routes"; in the past decade, more than 5,000 Rohingya refugees have died en route.