The vessel was carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals hoping to start a new life in Malaysia when strong winds and rough seas capsized the boat, leaving 250 people missing in the Andaman Sea in South-East Asia.
According to the United Nations and rescue agencies, the “overcrowded” trawler, which had left Bangladesh and was heading for Malaysia, reportedly sank after encountering adverse weather conditions, including a severe storm. A spokesperson for the Bangladesh Coast Guard, Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Suzan, said that on 9 April, only nine people were rescued, including three Rohingya and six Bangladeshis.
The refugees, who were rescued after their boat capsized, said they had left Bangladesh for Malaysia on 4 April “in the hope of a better life,” adding that their boat had been caught in a storm on 7 or 8 April.
Bangladesh’s flagship M.T. Meghna Pride rescued nine people after the crew spotted them floating in the sea following the capsizing. The eight men and one woman rescued are safe after being handed over to the coastguard. The rescue was not part of any official search operation, as it took place outside Bangladeshi territory, and the crew of the M.T. Meghna Pride rescued the people while en route to Indonesia from Chittagong in Bangladesh.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration said in a joint statement on Tuesday the trawler had set sail from Teknaf in the southern Bangladeshi district of Cox’s Bazar, carrying a large number of passengers to Malaysia.
Since the brutal crackdown of 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, members of one of Myanmar’s many ethnic minorities, have been fleeing across the border into Bangladesh. The Rohingya, who are predominantly Muslim, are denied citizenship by the government of Myanmar, a country with a Buddhist majority.
Poor living conditions in Bangladesh have also prompted some Rohingya to embark on dangerous journeys in overcrowded boats to Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country that some regard as a safe haven in the region.
