AT LEAST 250 people, including Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals, were missing after a boat capsized in the Andaman Sea recently on the way to Malaysia, according to the United Nations refugee and migration agencies.

While details remained sketchy, Bangladesh Coast Guard spokesperson Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Suzan told reporters on Wednesday that nine people, including three Rohingya and six Bangladeshis, were rescued on April 9. 

Commander Suzan said that the Bangladesh flag carrier MT Meghna Pride rescued the nine people when the crew found them floating at sea after the capsize.

The UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in a joint statement said on Tuesday that the trawler departed from Teknaf in the southern Bangladeshi district of Cox’s Bazar carrying a large number of passengers to Malaysia.

Overcrowding, strong winds and rough seas caused the vessel to lose control and sink, the agencies said.

The UNHCR and IOM urged the international community to strengthen funding and solidarity to ensure lifesaving assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which has sheltered more than one million Rohingya from Myanmar.