Kuala lumpur: A boat believed to be carrying approximately 90 undocumented migrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Rohingya capsized and sank in waters near the Thai-Malaysian border three days ago.
According to Thai News Agency, Malaysia's Malay Mail newspaper reported that six individuals survived, and the body of a Myanmar woman was discovered. Police in Kedah state, in northwestern Malaysia bordering Thailand, indicated that the migrants were initially in a large vessel carrying about 300 people, including Myanmar nationals, Rohingya, and Bangladeshis. This boat departed from the coast about a month ago and was divided by human traffickers into three smaller boats as it approached Malaysian waters three days prior to the incident. Each of these smaller boats carried around 90 passengers. One of the boats capsized, while the status of the other two vessels remains unclear.
Rescuers managed to save the first three survivors, including a Myanmar man, followed by the rescue of two Rohingya individuals and a Bangladeshi later in the afternoon. Additionally, the body of a Rohingya woman was found floating at sea. Malaysian police reported that the undocumented migrants were allegedly paying traffickers 13,000 ringgit (approximately 30,240 baht) each for the journey to Malaysia, with some having to sell their land to afford the trip.
The director of the Kedah and Perlis Maritime Office disclosed that there were 10 survivors, one body recovered, and hundreds of individuals still unaccounted for. The ill-fated boat had set sail from Buthidaung town in Rakhine State, western Myanmar, carrying around 300 people onboard.