NAYPYIDAW, July 16. /Dunyo IA/. More than 500 people, believed to have been fleeing violence in Myanmar, are feared dead after two boats disappeared off the country’s coast, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing a joint statement by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The statement said the vessels departed from Myanmar’s western Rakhine state in late June. One boat was carrying around 250 people, and contact with it was lost shortly after departure. The second vessel, carrying approximately 280 passengers, is believed to have sunk off the coast of Ayeyarwady region on July 8.

Most of the passengers were members of the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar that has faced decades of persecution and violence. More than 1 million Rohingya have previously fled to Bangladesh, where many continue to live in overcrowded refugee camps.

According to the United Nations, dangerous sea routes remain one of the few options available for many refugees seeking to escape conflict zones. The situation has been worsened by Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, escalating clashes between the military authorities and the armed group “Arakan Army,” as well as difficult weather conditions.

The IOM and UNHCR said reports of the deaths have not yet been officially confirmed but expressed serious concern over the potential scale of the disaster. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 300 people have died or gone missing in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

The international organizations called for strengthened search-and-rescue operations, improved access to protection for refugees, and measures to combat smuggling and human trafficking networks.