{"id":1009,"date":"2026-07-16T12:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1009"},"modified":"2026-07-16T12:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:00:18","slug":"un-500-feared-dead-in-myanmar-shipwrecks-since-late-june","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=1009","title":{"rendered":"UN: 500 feared dead in Myanmar shipwrecks since late June"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UN:<\/div>

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The United Nations warned Thursday that more than 500 people were feared dead following reports of two large shipwrecks off Myanmar since late June.<\/p>\n

The UN\u2019s International Organization for Migration and its refugee agency UNHCR voiced alarm in a joint statement at reports \u201cthat two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days\u201d.<\/p>\n

Preliminary information indicated that the two vessels in question departed from war-torn Myanmar\u2019s Rakhine State in late June, with mainly members of the country\u2019s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority onboard, the statement said.<\/p>\n

Some had reportedly travelled from the huge camps in Bangladesh\u2019s Cox\u2019s Bazar, where more than million Rohingya refugees who have fled from Rakhine live in squalid conditions.<\/p>\n

The statement said that one boat, believed to have been carrying around 250 people, lost contact shortly after departure.<\/p>\n

A second boat, reportedly carrying some 280 people, is meanwhile believed to have sunk off Myanmar\u2019s Ayeyarwady coast on July 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the incidents and casualty figures have yet to be officially confirmed, UNHCR and IOM are gravely concerned by the potentially devastating loss of life,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

The UN agencies highlighted that the journeys \u201ctook place outside the regular sailing season, when maritime conditions are typically more hazardous\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecent torrential rain and flooding across the region have further increased the risks associated with such sea movements.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement cautioned that \u201cif verified, this tragedy would add to the nearly 300 people reported to be missing or to have lost their lives in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal so far this year, including Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Rohingya undertake perilous sea journeys every year in search of better living conditions, travelling aboard rickety boats often operated by trafficking networks.<\/p>\n

According to UNHCR, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead at sea in the northern Indian Ocean last year alone \u2014 out of more than 6,500 who had attempted such perilous sea crossings.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s statement stressed that the latest reported tragedies \u201cunderscore the devastating impact of protracted conflict and displacement, as well as the continued lack of sustainable solutions for Rohingya communities\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEscalating conflict and a worsening humanitarian situation in Myanmar, along with limited assistance and opportunities in refugee camps in Bangladesh, contribute to increasing numbers of people attempting perilous sea journeys in search of safety and protection,\u201d they pointed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reported incidents also highlight the persistent risks posed by smuggling and trafficking networks, which continue to exploit the desperation of people seeking safety,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

IOM and UNHCR called for \u201cenhanced search and rescue efforts, access to asylum and protection, and actions against smuggling and trafficking networks\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United Nations warned Thursday that more than 500 people were feared dead following reports of two large shipwrecks off Myanmar since late June. The UN\u2019s International Organization for Migration and its refugee agency UNHCR voiced alarm in a joint statement at reports \u201cthat two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/egyptian-gazette.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mynamar.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1798,2069,2072,1025,2070,2071],"class_list":["post-1009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","tag-dead","tag-feared","tag-june","tag-late","tag-myanmar","tag-shipwrecks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}