At least 23 Rohingyas died during migration last year: IOM

At least 788 people lost their lives during migration in Asia in 2021 including 23 Rohingyas, with the vast majority of deaths (72.5%) being recorded in its second half, according to a report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The International Organisation for Migration's (IOM) Missing Migrants Project (MMP) published the annual regional overview of Asia Pacific on Friday while IOM Bangladesh shared it with the media on Monday.

According to the report, between July and December 2021, a boat carrying Rohingyas was reported to have capsized en route from Bangladesh's Bhasan Char, a remote island where nearly 20,000 Rohingya refugees have been relocated by the Bangladeshi government, says the report.

At least 18 people died, and a further four people remained missing at sea. Eight children are known to be among the deceased. In a separate boat, one Rohingya woman died due to sickness while migrating through this route.

"These mark an emerging trend of an apparent increase in attempts to leave Bhasan Char: no deaths were documented on this route since the start of relocation of Rohingyas to this island in December 2020.  Considering that only large-scale incidents are likely to be reported and cases involving smaller boats may remain unrecorded, it is likely that many more deaths occurring in smaller incidents remain undocumented," said the report.

It also said that deaths of 495 people were reported while migrating in Southern Asia, while another 76 lives were lost during migration in South-Eastern Asia, deeming these locations the deadliest documented sub-regions in the second half of 2021.

In Southern Asia, more than 95% (472) of these deaths were documented during the migration of Afghan nationals from Afghanistan, while another 23 lives were lost during Rohingya's onward journeys from Bangladesh's Bhashan Char island.