Malaysia, Thailand resume search for missing Rohingya after deadly boat sinking

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LANGKAWI, Malaysia/BANGKOK (Reuters) -Malaysian and Thai authorities on Tuesday resumed their search for dozens of people missing at sea, days after a boat carrying members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority sank near the border between the two countries, killing at least 21.

Thirteen survivors have been rescued in Malaysian waters since Saturday, while 12 were found dead, including two children, Malaysia’s maritime agency told reporters on Monday.

Romli Mustafa, regional director at the agency, said his counterparts in Thailand had found nine bodies, though a Thai police official in the country’s Satun province told Reuters that just six had been recovered.

Romli said Malaysian authorities would continue search operations until Saturday, while a Thai rescue worker said on Tuesday that search teams will widen their coverage around Koh Tarutao, where most of the bodies were found.

For years, many Rohingya have embarked on rickety wooden boats to try to reach neighbouring countries, including Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Thailand, bidding to flee persecution in Myanmar or overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar denies abuses against the Rohingya in Rakhine State in the country’s west, but claims the minority are not citizens but illegal immigrants from South Asia.

Hundreds of Rohingya people boarded a vessel bound for Malaysia two weeks ago, and were transferred onto two boats on Thursday, Malaysian authorities have said.

One boat carrying 70 people sank shortly afterwards, while the fate of around 230 people on board the other vessel remains unclear, officials said.

More than 5,100 Rohingya boarded boats to leave Myanmar and Bangladesh between January and early November of this year, and nearly 600 of them have been reported dead or missing, according to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency.

The frequent arrival of Rohingya on boats operated by people smugglers has been a source of frustration for the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, with Malaysia and Indonesia in particular criticising Myanmar for the way it treats the minority.

Malaysia, which does not recognise refugee status, has in recent years begun to turn away boats and detain Rohingya as part of a crackdown on undocumented migrants. 

Rights group Amnesty International on Monday called on ASEAN to address the issue of Rohingya boats at sea.

“The unconscionable practice of pushing boats away from borders must end, and regional governments must ensure that any boats carrying refugees and migrants are allowed to land safely in the nearest country,” Amnesty said.

(Reporting by Mandy Leong in Langkawi and Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok; Writing by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by David Stanway)