Tragedy at sea

Rohingya fleeing violence in Rakhine state hit by tragedy at sea

14 Rohingya die as the boat they were fleeing in capsizes off the coast of Bangladesh. The dead were all women and children from Rakhine state.

COX’S BAZAR: At least 10 children and four women were killed when a boat carrying Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar capsized off Bangladesh, as the number of new arrivals topped 500,000.

The latest disaster came as a UN visit to Myanmar’s conflict-battered Rakhine state was postponed yesterday, thwarting efforts to reach the epicentre of violence for the first time since the start of the massive Rohingya exodus.

At the scene of the accident, witnesses and survivors said the boat overturned just yards from the coast after apparently hitting a submerged object and was later washed ashore in two parts along with the victims’ bodies.

“They drowned before our eyes,” said Mohammad Sohel, a local shopkeeper.

“Minutes later, the waves washed the bodies to the beach.”

One distraught survivor said he had set off for Bangladesh from a coastal village in Myanmar late Wednesday with his wife, who was killed in the disaster along with one of his children.

“The boat hit something underground. Then it overturned,” Nurus Salam said.

Another survivor who was seen weeping on the beach said at the scene that her parents and children were missing.

Local police constable Fazlul Karim said 14 bodies had so far been washed ashore, and there were fears the number could rise.

The UN said more than half a million refugees had now crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar since August 25,.

It said the flow of new arrivals had slowed and the new figure of 501,800 – up from around 480,000 – was due mainly to the counting of refugees not previously included in the tally.

The huge influx of Rohingya to Bangladesh – the largest mass movement of refugees in the region in decades – has created a humanitarian crisis as the government and aid agencies struggle to provide food, clean water and shelter.

Images circulated by Myanmar authorities on Wednesday showed hundreds waiting to cross the Naf River that divides the two countries.

Survivors said the boat that capsized on Thursday was carrying around 40 people, many of them children.

Local police chief Abul Khair said at least 18 people survived. — AFP