396 Rohingya refugees rescued from drifting boat

At least 60 ethnic Rohingya died on a ship that drifted for weeks after it failed to reach Malaysia, officials of the Bangladesh coast guard said, following the rescue of 396 starving survivors.

For years, Rohingya from Myanmar have boarded boats organised by smugglers in the hope of finding refuge in South-East Asia, usually making voyages during the dry season from November to March, when the waters are calm.

A human rights group yesterday said it believed more boats carrying Muslim-minority Rohingya were adrift at sea, with coronavirus lockdowns in South-East Asia making it harder for them to find refuge.

“They were at sea for about two months and were starving,” a Bangladesh coastguard official said, adding that the ship was brought to shore late on Wednesday.

The survivors would be handed to the UN refugee agency, said the official, who had initially said they would be sent to Myanmar.

Video images showed a crowd comprised mostly of women and children, some stick-thin and unable to stand, being helped to shore. One emaciated man lay on the sand.

One refugee said the group had been turned back from other countries from twice and a fights had broken out onboard.

Media reports that the group was infected with the virus had not been substantiated, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said.

Since last year, Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies have picked up some 1,000 Rohingya as they waited to board vessels bound for other countries. —