Bangkok [Thailand], November 10: Seven people have died after a boat carrying an estimated 100 refugees from Myanmar capsized off Malaysia's north-western coast, the Bernama news agency reported on Sunday, citing local maritime officials.
There are fears the death toll could rise sharply after only 13 people were rescued from near the boat, which capsized on Saturday near the border with neighbouring Thailand.
Among the dead was at least one child, a girl, the news agency reported, quoting the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency as saying that search efforts for possible victims would continue on Monday.
The incident is believed to have happened near Tarutao Island, just north of the popular Malaysian resort island of Langkawi. "A boat carrying 90 people is believed to have capsized," local police chief Adzli Abu Shah told reporters, adding that rescue operations were under way to locate the survivors.
The Malaysia-bound people initially boarded a large vessel, but, as they neared the border, they were instructed to transfer onto three smaller boats, each carrying about 100 people, to avoid detection by the authorities, the police chief was quoted as saying.
Among the survivors found in the waters were three Myanmar nationals, two Rohingya refugees, and a Bangladeshi man, while the body was that of a Rohingya woman, state media agency Bernama reported, quoting Abu Shah. Every year, hundreds of people from Myanmar risk their lives at sea seeking refuge in Malaysia or Indonesia.
Many in Myanmar have been fleeing violent persecution under the military, which seized power in 2021. Before that, members of the Muslim Rohingya minority were violently driven from their homes in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar.
Source: Qatar Tribune
