KUALA LUMPUR — A ship carrying about 300 migrants from Myanmar capsized final week within the Indian Ocean near the border between Thailand and Malaysia, with no less than one physique recovered floating within the sea, 10 rescued and dozens lacking, officers mentioned Sunday.
The timing and the precise location the place the boat sank sank weren’t instantly recognized.
A Malaysian official mentioned the vessel doubtless capsized in Thai waters, warning that cross-border syndicates have gotten more and more energetic in exploiting migrants utilizing perilous sea routes. A police chief mentioned a few of these rescued have been Rohingya Muslims, who primarily dwell in Myanmar the place they’ve confronted persecution for many years.
First Adm. Romli Mustafa, from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Company, mentioned a preliminary investigation signifies the boat had departed from the city of Buthidaung, in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. and that it sank three days in the past.
The company launched a search and rescue operation on Saturday, after a number of survivors have been discovered drifting within the waters close to Malaysia’s northern resort island of Langkawi. The physique of a girl, believed to be from Myanmar, was discovered floating within the sea, he added.
No less than 10 folks have been rescued from the incident, together with a person from Bangladesh and several other from Myanmar, he mentioned. “There’s a chance that extra victims shall be positioned because the operation continues,” Romli mentioned in an announcement.
A Malaysian state police chief Adzli Abu Shah instructed nationwide Bernama information company the vessel doubtless sank in Thai waters earlier than the victims drifted into Malaysia.
In January, Malaysian authorities turned away two boats carrying almost 300 folks believed to be Muslim Rohingya refugees who have been attempting to enter the nation illegally. Malaysia is a well-liked vacation spot due to its dominant Malay Muslim inhabitants.
Malaysia has accepted Rohingya up to now on humanitarian grounds however has tried to restrict their numbers, fearing a mass inflow of individuals arriving on boats.
There are round 117,670 Rohingya refugees registered with the U.N. Excessive Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia — about 59 % of the whole refugee inhabitants in Malaysia.
