Record Rohingya Deaths at Sea in 2025 Highlight Unfolding Crisis

In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, marking the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

An estimated 5,000 Rohingya refugees have drowned at sea over the past decade. UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch described the waters as "an unmarked graveyard for thousands of desperate Rohingya refugees."

Since 2012, almost 200,000 Rohingya have risked perilous sea journeys to escape persecution. This follows the mass exodus in 2017 when hundreds of thousands fled Myanmar amid ethnic cleansing.

Earlier this month, UNHCR reported hundreds missing after a shipwreck off Bangladesh. Baloch emphasized that ongoing conflict and lack of citizenship prospects in Myanmar offer little hope for voluntary, safe return, fueling further dangerous voyages.

UNHCR hopes the record death toll will spur global action to find solutions for the desperate Rohingya population, preventing another deadly year.