Death toll rises to 11 after Rohingya boat capsizes near Thai-Malaysia border
At least 11 people have been confirmed dead after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsized near the Thailand-Malaysia maritime border, officials from both countries said on Monday.
The vessel, which reportedly carried around 70 passengers, sank amid rough seas late Sunday night.
Authorities in Malaysia said 13 survivors—mostly Rohingya men—were rescued during ongoing joint search and rescue operations involving maritime and air patrol units. Thai rescue teams later recovered four more bodies, including two children, adding to the seven bodies found earlier by Malaysia’s coast guard.
Another boat believed to be carrying over 230 Rohingya refugees remains missing, with officials expressing growing concern that it, too, may have encountered trouble in the storm-hit waters of the Andaman Sea. Both Thai and Malaysian agencies are coordinating efforts to trace the vessel’s route.
Local fishermen first alerted authorities after spotting debris and people struggling in the water near Langkawi Island, a common landing point for Rohingya migrants attempting to reach Malaysia from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Thousands of Rohingya risk their lives each year in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats to escape dire conditions. Many have fled conflict-ridden Rakhine State in Myanmar, where the Muslim minority has faced decades of persecution, or cramped refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where over 1.3 million Rohingya currently live in deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has repeatedly warned that Southeast Asia is witnessing one of the region’s deadliest migration crises, as Rohingya attempt sea crossings with minimal protection and little international support.
Officials from Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency confirmed that the search for additional survivors and victims will continue “as long as weather conditions permit.” Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations have urged neighboring countries to open safe migration corridors and increase maritime patrols to prevent further tragedies at sea.
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