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Hundreds of people were reported missing on Sunday after a boat carrying migrants sank near the Thailand-Malaysia border, Malaysian maritime authorities said. Ten survivors and one body have been recovered so far.
According to First Admiral Romli Mustafa, director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) for Kedah and Perlis, the vessel departed from Buthidaung, Myanmar, with around 300 people on board.
The boat went down three days ago, and search-and-rescue teams are continuing operations in waters off Langkawi. Among the survivors were three Myanmar nationals, two Rohingya men and one Bangladeshi man, authorities confirmed. The recovered body was identified as that of a Rohingya woman.
Preliminary reports suggest the group was attempting to reach Malaysia when, near the border, passengers were ordered to transfer from a large vessel to three smaller boats each carrying about 100 people to avoid detection by coastal patrols.
“The status of the other two boats remains unknown,” said Kedah Police chief Adzli Abu Shah, who added that weather conditions and strong currents were complicating rescue efforts.
The incident highlights the continuing plight of the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar’s Rakhine State, who frequently undertake dangerous sea journeys to escape statelessness and persecution in search of safety in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries.
(Daily Times)
