Dhaka, April 14 -- Around 250 people including Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals are feared missing after a boat capsized in the Andaman Sea, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

The agencies said they are "deeply saddened" by reports that the trawler which departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh for Malaysia, sank amid heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding.

The UN agencies said the promise of better wages abroad, often coupled with misinformation spread by smuggling networks, drives individuals, Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals, to take significant risks.

These factors, they said, create conditions in which smugglers and traffickers can exploit vulnerabilities,...