Rohingya refugees who were rescued by Bangladesh Coast Guard, sit on the shore in Teknaf, subdistrict of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh April 15, 2020. Picture taken April 15, 2020. Abdul Aziz/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
For years, Rohingya from Myanmar have boarded boats organised by smugglers in the hope of finding refuge in Southeast Asia, usually making voyages during the dry season from November to March, when the waters are calm.
A human rights group said it believed more boats carrying Muslim-minority Rohingya were adrift at sea, with coronavirus lockdowns in Malaysia and Thailand making it harder for them to find refuge.
“They were at sea for about two months and were starving,” a Bangladesh coastguard official told Reuters in a message, adding that the ship was brought to shore late on Wednesday.
The 396 survivors would be handed to the U.N refugee agency, said the official, who had initially said they would be sent to Myanmar. The official also revised the death toll to 32 from 24.
Video images showed a crowd comprised mostly of women and children, some stick-thin and unable to stand, being helped to shore. One emaciated man lay on the sand.
One refugee told a reporter the group had been turned back from Malaysia twice and a fight had broken out onboard between passengers and crew at one point.
“We understand these men, women and children were at sea for nearly two months in harrowing conditions and that many of them are extremely malnourished and dehydrated,” the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said.
“UNHCR is offering to assist the government to move these people to quarantine facilities,” it added in a statement that also offered medical attention.
Media reports that the group was infected with the virus had not been substantiated, the agency said.
Buddhist-majority Myanmar does not recognise Rohingya as citizens, and they face severe curbs on freedom of movement as well as access to healthcare and education.
Myanmar denies persecuting Rohingya and says they are not an indigenous ethnic group but immigrants from South Asia, even though many of them are able to trace their ancestry back centuries.
A human rights group said it believed more boats carrying Muslim-minority Rohingya were adrift at sea, with coronavirus lockdowns in Malaysia and Thailand making it harder for them to find refuge.
“They were at sea for about two months and were starving,” a Bangladesh coastguard official told Reuters in a message, adding that the ship was brought to shore late on Wednesday.
The 396 survivors would be handed to the U.N refugee agency, said the official, who had initially said they would be sent to Myanmar. The official also revised the death toll to 32 from 24.
Video images showed a crowd comprised mostly of women and children, some stick-thin and unable to stand, being helped to shore. One emaciated man lay on the sand.
One refugee told a reporter the group had been turned back from Malaysia twice and a fight had broken out onboard between passengers and crew at one point.
“We understand these men, women and children were at sea for nearly two months in harrowing conditions and that many of them are extremely malnourished and dehydrated,” the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said.
“UNHCR is offering to assist the government to move these people to quarantine facilities,” it added in a statement that also offered medical attention.
Media reports that the group was infected with the virus had not been substantiated, the agency said.
Buddhist-majority Myanmar does not recognise Rohingya as citizens, and they face severe curbs on freedom of movement as well as access to healthcare and education.
Myanmar denies persecuting Rohingya and says they are not an indigenous ethnic group but immigrants from South Asia, even though many of them are able to trace their ancestry back centuries.
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