Ramree Island

Ramree Island (Burmese: ရမ်းဗြဲကျွန်း; also spelled Yanbye Island) is an island off the coast of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Ramree island is the largest island on the entire Arakan Coast and in Myanmar. The area of the island is about 1,350 square kilometres (520 sq mi) and the main populated center is Ramree. In the Burmese language it is known as Yanbye Island. The district on Ramree island is Kyaukpyu district, and Kyaukpyu is a major town and the second capital of Rakhine State.

Nearby islands

Sagu Kyun is a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) long and 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) wide island located off the southern cape of Ramree, separated from it by a 2.4-kilometre (1.5 mi) wide strait.

Magyi Kyun is a 2.2-kilometre (1.4 mi) long islet off the southern end of Sagu Kyun.

Cheduba Island lies further offshore, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the south-western coast of Ramree Island.

History
Originally, the island was a trading post for the Kingdom of Mrauk U, with fishing villages spread across it. During World War II the Battle of Ramree Island was fought in January and February 1945, as part of the British 14th Army 1944–45 offensive on the Southern Front of the Burma campaign. At the close of the battle, Japanese soldiers were forced into the marshes surrounding the island, and saltwater crocodiles are claimed to have eaten 400 (or 980 of them, as only twenty survived, according to one account) — in what the Guinness World Records has listed as “The Greatest Disaster Suffered [by humans] from Animals”. However, the veracity of this story has been disputed and the facts suggest that, while a small number of Japanese soldiers were likely killed by crocodiles (the only verifiable mention is of 10-15 men killed by crocodiles while crossing the Mu River near Ramree town), the vast majority likely died due to a variety of other reasons including dehydration, drowning, British gunfire, dysentery, and perhaps even a small number to sharks (Platt et al. 1998).

Ramree was the homeland of the last ruler of Arakan, Maha Thammada.