GENEVA/YANGON (dpa): Last year was the deadliest ever for Rohingya refugees fleeing by boat from Bangladesh or Myanmar across the Indian Ocean towards Indonesia and Malaysia, the United Nations refugee agency reported on Friday.
Approximately 900 people from the ethnic group died or are listed as missing in the Andaman Sea or the Bay of Bengal, the UNHCR said in Geneva.
"More than 6,500 Rohingya attempted perilous sea crossings that year, with one in seven reported missing or dead - the highest mortality rate worldwide of any major route for refugee and migrant sea journeys," it said.
This trend has continued this year as well, with more than 2,800 Rohingya undertaking dangerous sea journeys since January.
Recently, an overcrowded boat carrying an estimated 250 people sank in the Andaman Sea after reportedly leaving Bangladesh for Malaysia at the end of March.
The exact time of the sinking remains unclear. Just nine people were rescued from the water, the UNHCR said.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in addition to Rohingya refugees, there were also people from Bangladesh on board.
World's largest refugee camp
More than 1.3 million Rohingya refugees currently live in Bangladesh, mostly in refugee camps. According to UNHCR, this constitutes the world's largest concentration of refugees in camp conditions.
UN agencies report that smugglers and human traffickers are exploiting the precarious situation of the refugees, exposing both Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals to great danger.
Nine years ago, the military in Myanmar launched an offensive against the Muslim Rohingya minority living there, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. - dpa
