The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered four bodies on Saturday after a boat carrying an estimated 40 to 50 Rohingya capsized off the coast of Bangladesh near Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar District. An additional 25 men, women, and children were rescued from the Bay of Bengal.
“A boat carrying Rohingya refugees sank near the jetty at West Para of Shah Porir Island in Teknaf upazila while trying to illegally enter Bangladesh from Myanmar via the sea,” stated Ashiqur Rahman, the commanding officer of the Teknaf-2 BGB Battalion.
Several others, including a BGB member, remain missing. Over one million Rohingya are confined to refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, according to Bangladesh.
On Jan. 5, 254 Rohingya landed in Aceh, Indonesia, with 10 people reported missing or dead. Save the Children’s partner organization, Geutanyoe Foundation, said 118 children were among the new arrivals.
Children made up 44 percent of more than 7,800 Rohingya leaving Bangladesh and Myanmar by boat in 2024 as the number of people taking to dangerous sea crossings continues to rise with about 460 so far in 2025, according to Save the Children on Jan. 8.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that 569 Rohingya died or went missing in Southeast Asian waters, while nearly 4,500 attempted sea journeys in 2023. This was the highest death toll since 2014, when 730 were reported lost.
