Up to 20 people have died of hunger or thirst on a boat carrying ethnic Rohingya that has been stranded at sea for two weeks off India’s coast, two Myanmar Rohingya activist groups said, nst.com transmits.
The boat with at least 100 people is currently in Malaysian waters as members of the Muslim minority continue to escape violence in Myanmar and hardship in Bangladesh refugee camps. “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. It is not clear if the boat drifted or was towed to Malaysian waters or if India attempted to provide aid.
