Over 30 Dead, Dozens Missing After Boat Capsizes Near Malaysia and Thailand

After a boat carrying Rohingya refugees from Myanmar sank close to Ko Tarutao island, authorities in Malaysia and Thailand confirmed on Monday that they had retrieved at least 21 bodies.

Three days after leaving the Arakan state of Myanmar, the ship carrying roughly 70 migrants capsized, according to police and maritime authorities. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) stated that since Saturday, thirteen individuals have been recovered in Malaysian waters.

According to Romli Mustafa, MMEA director for Kedah and Perlis, search and rescue activities are currently concentrated around Ko Tarutao and Malaysia’s Langkawi Island, where they are anticipated to continue for at least seven days.

belonged to a bigger group of about 300 people. The second ship, which was carrying about 230 passengers, has not yet been found.

The tragedy highlights the increasing desperation of the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority escaping poverty and violence in Bangladeshi refugee camps and Myanmar. More than 5,100 Rohingya have set out on perilous sea crossings since January, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), with about 600 of them having died or gone missing this year alone.

Rescue operations will continue, according to officials from both nations, as they look for additional survivors and try to find the missing ship.