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UN refugee agency warns of another Bay of Bengal boat crisis in coming weeks

Xinhua, August 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday called for urgent action before the end of the monsoon season unleashes a new wave of people leaving on boats from the Bay of Bengal.

This May, at least 5,000 people were abandoned by smugglers at sea in this area and eventually disembarked in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, while at least 70 people were estimated to have died on the boats.

According to UNHCR, the boat movements have temporarily stopped due to the monsoon rains, which have caused severe flooding in many areas across Myanmar. However, the maritime departures are expected to resume once the weather improves in the coming weeks.

With the next "sailing season" expected to start in the coming weeks, UNHCR is working with agencies and other partners on an information campaign warning potential travelers of the risks of getting on smugglers' boats.

The UNHCR reported on May 8 that some 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis boarded smugglers' boats on the Bay of Bengal between January and March of 2015, nearly doubling the number during the same time last year.

According a latest UNHCR report, in the first six months of this year some 31,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis departed from the Bay of Bengal on smugglers' boats, marking a 34 percent increase over the same period last year, which brings to 94,000 the estimated number of people who have risked their lives making the dangerous journey since 2014.

Over 1,100 people are estimated to have died in these waters since 2014, including 370 in 2015. Enditem