Some 100 Rohingya stranded in boat off India's coast, many feared dead
At least 100 Rohingya are stranded in a boat off India's Andaman Islands and at least are feared dead due to thirst, hunger, or drowning, reports cited Myanmar Rohingya activist groups as saying on Wednesday.
Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, which works to support Myanmar’s Rohingya, said the boat was approached by five Indian ships late on Tuesday.
“We estimate that probably as many as 20 have died … some from hunger and thirst, and others jumped overboard in desperation. This is absolutely awful and outrageous.”
The boat, which is currently at the Bay of Bengal close to the Indian region of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has apparently been lost since its engine failed in late November.
Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group hoped the Indian Navy or coastguard will manage to rescue and disembark the boat as soon as possible. “These people have been adrift on a damaged boat for more than two weeks without food and water. We have heard that up to 16 people may have already died,” said Lilianne Fan, the group’s chair.
UNHCR spokesperson for Asia Babar Baloch pleaded with both Sri Lanka and India to assist in the rescue of people on board. “Quick action is needed to save lives and avoid further deaths,” Baloch said. “We repeat our warning that inaction from states to save lives is resulting in more human misery and tragedies with each passing day.”
The boat is believed to have been travelling to Malaysia from Bangladesh, where a million or so Rohingya Muslims who are a stateless minority and fled violence in their native Myanmar now reside in refugee camps.
Another boat, carrying more than 100 Rohingya, was rescued by Sri Lanka’s navy on the weekend.
MG
