About 250 People, Including Rohingya Refugees, Feared Missing After Boat Sinks in Andaman Sea

COX’S BAZAR (April 15, 2026) — About 250 people, including children, are feared missing after reports that a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and people from Bangladesh has sunk in the Andaman Sea.

The fishing trawler reportedly capsized in rough seas on its journey from Teknaf in Bangladesh to Malaysia. These journeys are fraught with danger, including for children who risk abuse at sea and sometimes travel unaccompanied without their parents or guardians.

Golam Mostofa, Head of the Cox’s Bazar Area Office at Save the Children, said:

"Desperation is driving these dangerous journeys. Rohingya families are staking their lives on a chance of a better future away from the world’s largest refugee camps.

"With no formal ways to earn a living, cuts to food rations, limited access to education and training, and growing insecurity, families are being pushed to send their children on life-threatening journeys at sea.

"Rohingya children are getting onto rickety, overcrowded boats in the scorching sun, often at the mercy of traffickers and criminal organizations, with no guarantee they will reach safety.

"This year will mark nine years since hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people fled violence in Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh. Today, the camps in Cox’s Bazar are home to about half a million children—and these children are growing up at a time when crucial funding has been cut to the bone.

"Save the Children is calling on donors to urgently increase funding for education, livelihoods, and improved security in the camps, and for regional governments to allow safe disembarkation and protection for those at sea."

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