More than 500 people are feared dead after two boats carrying members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority reportedly capsized in the Bay of Bengal, two United Nations agencies on Thursday. The two boats left Myanmar’s western Rakhine state in late June carrying mostly Rohingya passengers, including some who had traveled from refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh, the International Organization for Migration (IMO) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said, citing preliminary information.

Over 500 feared dead in shipwrecks. (2026, July 17). The Manila Times, p. B5.