AT least 100 ethnic Rohingya were stranded in a boat off India’s Andaman Islands and as many as 16-20 may have died of thirst, hunger or drowned, said two Myanmar Rohingya activist groups.
Each year many Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority, risk their lives boarding rickety vessels to escape violence in Myanmar and squalor in Bangladesh refugee camps. Many of them attempt to reach Malaysia.The stranded boat was approached by five Indian ships late on Tuesday, a source told Reuters.
A spokesperson for the Indian Navy said he did not have any details to share. A spokesperson for the Coast Guard did not respond to a request for comment.
“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,” said Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project which works to support Myanmar’s Rohingyas.Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group said the group had been adrift for more than two weeks. — Reuters
