250 goes missing as overloaded sinks off India

International

ABOUT 250 Rohingya and Bangladeshi people, including children, are missing aftera boat capsized last week in the Andaman Sea, the United Nations said.

The trawler left Bangladesh bound for Malaysia. It sank due to heavy winds, rough seas and too many people on board, a report by BBC said.

On April 9, a Bangladesh ship rescued nine survivors who were holding onto drums and wooden pieces to stay afloat.

A coast guard officer told the BBC that the survivors left Bangladesh on April 4. On April 7 or 8, a storm hit.

One survivor, Rafiqul Islam, 40, said he floated for 36 hours and was burned by spilled oil. He took the trip because someone promised him a job in Malaysia.

The UN said the tragedy shows what happens when Rohingya have no safe place to go.

"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 had told Reuters.

The UN called on the world to keep funding help for Rohingya refugees and their hosts in Bangladesh.

"As Bangladesh marks its new year, this tragedy is a reminder of the efforts urgently needed to address the root causes of displacement in Myanmar," the UN said.(Jene-V N. Sayson, CTU-TC BAEL-ELSD Intern)