Boat carrying Myanmar migrants capsizes off Malaysia, 1 dead and 10 rescued | World News

Who were on board

First Admiral Romli Mustafa from Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency said a preliminary investigation showed the boat had left from Buthidaung, a town in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

He said the vessel sank about three days ago. “There is a possibility that more victims will be located as the operation continues,” Romli said in a statement quoted by AP.

Those rescued include several people from Myanmar and one man from Bangladesh. Some of the survivors were Rohingya Muslims, a group that has long faced persecution in Myanmar, a local police chief said.

Adzli Abu Shah, a Malaysian state police chief, told the national Bernama news agency the boat probably capsized in Thai waters before the survivors drifted into Malaysian territory.

He said cross-border trafficking networks are increasingly getting active in exploiting migrants and using unsafe sea routes.

Malaysia has in the past accepted Rohingya refugees on humanitarian grounds but has tried to limit their numbers, fearing large arrivals by sea.

The United Nations refugee agency says about 117,670 Rohingya are registered in Malaysia, making up around 59% of the country’s total refugee population, according to AP.

In January, Malaysian authorities turned away two boats carrying nearly 300 people believed to be Rohingya Muslims attempting to enter the country illegally.