The United Nations' refugee and immigration?agencies announced in a joint statement that around 250 people are missing after a boat carrying Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees capsized in the Andaman sea.

UN agencies reported that the trawler, which was carrying about 250 men, woman and children, sank because of rough seas, heavy winds and overcrowding. The trawler had left?Teknaf, in southern Bangladesh, and was headed for Malaysia.

The United Nations High commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration said that "this tragedy highlights the devastating human costs of prolonged displacement, as well as the continuing absence?of sustainable solutions for the Rohingya."

Since years, many of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority have tried to reach neighbouring nations, including Malaysia and Thailand. They are fleeing persecution in Myanmar, or overcrowded camps in Bangladesh.

The agencies called on the international community?to step up and sustain funding to provide lifesaving assistance to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, as well as support?for?Bangladeshi hosting communities.

Myanmar's armed force launched an offensive in?2017 that forced 730,000 Rohingya from their homes into neighboring Bangladesh. A U.N. fact finding mission concluded that?the 2017 offensive included "genocidal actions".

Myanmar, a country dominated by Buddhists, has denied the genocide and said that the U.N. fact finding mission was not reliable or objective.

(source: Reuters)