Malaysia Recovers Additional Bodies After Migrant Boat Capsizes

At least 21 people have lost their lives after a vessel carrying undocumented migrants sank near Langkawi, a resort island close to the Malaysia border with Thailand.

Rescue teams are now on their third day of operations. Thirteen passengers have been pulled to safety, but dozens remain unaccounted for. Officials estimate roughly 70 individuals were aboard the boat.

Authorities believe those on board are part of a group of around 300 migrants, mostly Rohingya who departed Myanmar’s impoverished Rakhine state about two weeks ago.

Another vessel carrying approximately 230 people has not yet been located.

Maritime authorities in Malaysia anticipate that the search, which includes both sea and air patrols, could continue for up to seven days.

Officials confirmed that at least one of the recovered bodies belonged to a child.

Among the 13 survivors, 11 are Rohingya and two are from Bangladesh.

The Rohingya, a primarily Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar, are stateless and denied citizenship by the government.

Since August 2017, a brutal military crackdown forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee into Bangladesh.

Conditions in refugee camps and poverty in Bangladesh have driven some to risk dangerous sea journeys on overcrowded boats bound for Malaysia, seen by many as a potential refuge in the region.

“People are dying in the fighting, dying from hunger. So some think it’s better to die at sea than to die slowly here,” a Rohingya refugee in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, had previously said.

Authorities report that migrants often pay more than $3,000 (£2,300) each for these perilous sea voyages.

These boats are typically overcrowded and lack basic necessities such as clean water and sanitation.

Not all vessels reach their intended destinations. Some passengers perish at sea, while others face detention or deportation upon arrival.

Occasionally, boats are turned away near Malaysia or Indonesia, either by local authorities or coastal communities. In January, two boats carrying around 300 refugees were refused entry, even after being provided food and water.

Since late 2023, over 150,000 Rohingya have arrived at refugee camps in Bangladesh, while hundreds of thousands more remain displaced globally, according to estimates.

The rights group emphasized that the recent tragedy “once again lays bare the deadly risks faced by Rohingya Muslims” attempting to escape persecution in Myanmar and deteriorating conditions in Bangladesh’s refugee settlements.