A survivor from a catastrophic boat disaster in the Andaman Sea has shared his terrifying experience after a vessel packed with refugees and Bangladeshi citizens overturned, resulting in approximately 250 people reported missing.
The vessel set sail from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh with Malaysia as its destination but went down during the second week of April due to harsh weather conditions, powerful winds, and dangerous overcrowding, according to United Nations refugee and migration officials.
Bangladesh currently provides shelter to approximately 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in southern camps, with the majority having escaped violence in Myanmar during 2017. Many refugees still undertake treacherous ocean voyages seeking security and employment opportunities in other countries.
Those who survived reported that close to 300 individuals were crammed aboard the vessel, including women, children, crew, and alleged human traffickers.
Survivor Rafiqul Islam described how passengers suffered through four days and nights on the water as circumstances quickly worsened. To evade law enforcement patrols, traffickers compelled passengers into tight storage areas designed for fishing equipment and nets.
“There was hardly any oxygen,” Islam shared with Reuters, explaining that no fewer than 30 people perished from lack of air before the vessel overturned. “We could not breathe.”
As the boat flipped over, hundreds of people were hurled into the ocean. Islam calculated that roughly 240 individuals remained on the vessel when it capsized, including approximately 20 women and multiple children. Very few managed to survive.
Islam belonged to a small group who initially escaped alive. A Bangladeshi oil tanker that happened to be passing by rescued four survivors, who then informed the crew about others still struggling in the water.
“They later found five more people,” Islam reported.
He outlined a hazardous, multi-part voyage that started on April 4, when passengers initially departed on a small fishing vessel before being moved to a larger boat near Myanmar’s territorial waters. During one segment, they were compelled to hide in vegetation to avoid being spotted by patrol units.
This disaster underscores the desperate circumstances facing Rohingya refugees, many of whom continue taking life-threatening sea journeys to nations including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Relief organizations caution that conditions are deteriorating as humanitarian assistance decreases. A recent International Rescue Committee study, which surveyed 500 households in Cox’s Bazar, revealed that only 2% of Rohingya parents maintain hope for their children’s futures, compared to 84% among host community families.
With food allowances cut to as low as $7 monthly per individual, numerous families are adopting desperate survival strategies. Close to 69% of refugee households indicate children are leaving school, while half report their children have been compelled to work.
The IRC called on donors and officials to transition from emergency assistance to sustainable solutions, cautioning that without continued support, both refugee and host populations will experience increased poverty and vulnerability.
