UN agencies say 70 Rohingya missing or dead off Indonesia

At least 70 Rohingya community members are missing or dead after a boat carrying them capsized off Indonesia, a joint statement by two UN agencies said Friday.

Indonesian authorities in West Aceh on Wednesday reported arrival of six refugees who were rescued by local fishermen from the capsized vessel, said the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Migration Agency (IOM) in a joint statement.

The incident of boat capsize had reportedly occurred in the early hours of the same day, approximately 12 nautical miles offshore, said the statement. The Indonesian authorities launched search and rescue mission, and some 75 people were safely brought ashore, the statement added.

But the agencies expressed “extreme concern about the scale of potential loss of life as the rescued refugees reported a total of 151 on board.”

The agencies said if the death of missing Rohingya was confirmed, “this would be the biggest loss of life so far this year.”

“This incident comes amid a notable increase in Rohingya refugee boat arrivals in Indonesia. In 2023 alone, more than 2,300 Rohingya refugee arrived, with a significant surge observed from November onwards. This surpasses the number of arrivals in the previous four years combined,” the statement added.