Floating on Hope: Survivors Recall Horror as 250 Vanish in Andaman Sea

 

DHAKA, April 15, 2026 — As the sun rose over the Andaman Sea on Wednesday, the search for nearly 250 missing people turned into a grim wait for news. 

Survivors of the tragic boat capsize that occurred last week have begun sharing harrowing stories of their struggle for life, after being rescued from the open ocean by a passing commercial ship.

The Nightmare at 2:00 AM

The silence of the deep sea was broken early on April 11 when the crew of the MT Meghna Pride, a vessel traveling from Bangladesh to Indonesia, spotted movement in the water. Nine people—eight men and one woman—were found clinging to plastic drums and broken pieces of wood.

"We were left floating for nearly 36 hours," said 40-year-old Rafiqul Islam, a survivor currently in the care of the authorities. Rafiqul’s body bears the scars of the disaster—burns from spilled engine oil that coated the water after the trawler was overcome by massive waves and heavy winds.

Trapped in the Hold

According to survivor testimonies, the journey was doomed by overcrowding. Reports suggest that human traffickers forced passengers into narrow compartments designed for fish nets. When the storm hit between April 7 and 8, many were trapped below deck.

"A number of us were kept in the holding area; some died there before the boat even sank," Rafiqul added. The boat had departed from Teknaf on April 4, carrying roughly 280 people, most of whom are now feared lost.

The Cycle of Displacement

The UNHCR and IOM highlighted in a joint statement that this tragedy is a direct result of "protracted displacement." With food aid shrinking and security declining in the Cox’s Bazar camps, the promise of jobs in Malaysia becomes a powerful, yet often fatal, lure for the Rohingya and local Bangladeshis alike.

"People are dying from hunger in the camps. For some, dying at sea feels like a quicker end than dying slowly in a shelter," shared a community leader from the Jamtoli refugee camp.

Current Status

The nine survivors were handed over to the Bangladesh Coast Guard vessel Mansur Ali and have since been moved to Teknaf. 

While the official search continues, the vastness of the Andaman Sea and the time elapsed since the capsize offer little hope for more survivors.
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