Boat from Myanmar with hundreds of migrants capsizes off Malaysia; 1 body found, 10 rescued

A boat carrying about 300 migrants from Myanmar capsized last week in the Indian Ocean close to the border between Thailand and Malaysia, with at least one body recovered floating in the sea, 10 rescued and dozens missing, officials said Sunday.

The timing and the exact location where the boat sank were not immediately known.

A Malaysian official said the vessel likely capsised in Thai waters, warning that cross-border syndicates are becoming increasingly active in exploiting migrants using perilous sea routes.

A police chief said some of those rescued were Rohingya Muslims, who mainly live in Myanmar where they have faced persecution for decades.

First Adm. Romli Mustafa, from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, said a preliminary investigation indicates the boat had departed from the town of Buthidaung, in Myanmar's Rakhine state and that it sank three days ago.

The agency launched a search and rescue operation on Saturday, after several survivors were found drifting in the waters near Malaysia's northern resort island of Langkawi. The body of a woman, believed to be from Myanmar, was found floating in the sea, he added.

At least 10 people were rescued from the incident, including a man from Bangladesh and several from Myanmar, he said. “There is a possibility that more victims will be located as the operation continues,” Romli said in a statement.

A Malaysian state police chief Adzli Abu Shah told national Bernama news agency the vessel likely sank in Thai waters before the victims drifted into Malaysia.

In January, Malaysian authorities turned away two boats carrying nearly 300 people believed to be Muslim Rohingya refugees who were trying to enter the country illegally. Malaysia is a popular destination because of its dominant Malay Muslim population.

Malaysia has accepted Rohingya in the past on humanitarian grounds but has tried to limit their numbers, fearing a mass influx of people arriving on boats.

There are around 1,17,670 Rohingya refugees registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia — about 59 per cent of the total refugee population in Malaysia.