April 15 (UPI) -- As many as 250 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants and refugees are missing after their boat went down in the Andaman Sea as they attempted to make the 1,500-mile crossing from Bangladesh to Malaysia, the United Nations refugee and migration agencies said Wednesday.
The fishing boat capsized and sank "due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding" at some point last week, most likely on April 7 or 8, said the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
The vessel was carrying almost 280 people, including women and children, when it left Teknaf in southeastern Bangladesh on April 4 before being hit by a storm after three days at sea.
A coast guard official told the BBC that nine people clinging to wreckage were pulled from the water by a passing Bangladesh vessel on Thursday.
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