Grim record: Nearly 900 Rohingya dead at sea in 2025

Nearly 900 Rohingya are believed to have died in shipwrecks in 2025, a grim record, according to the refugee agency UNHCR.

In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year ever for maritime transport in South and Southeast Asia, according to UNHCR data, spokesperson Babar Baloch said in Geneva.

2026 has also started on a dark note. On Tuesday, around 250 Rohingya refugees were reported to have drowned off Malaysia.

The Rohingya minority group has long been oppressed and persecuted in their homeland of Myanmar. The United States, among others, has classified the violence against the Rohingya as genocide.