Overview
- Malaysia’s maritime agency says a group of about 300 people departed Buthidaung, Myanmar, on a larger vessel before being split into three smaller boats of roughly 100 each near the border.
- Rescuers have recovered seven bodies and found 13 survivors, updating earlier counts of one dead and 10 rescued, with operations expanding using patrol vessels, aircraft, drones and local fishermen.
- Officials believe the boat that sank did so near Thailand’s Tarutao Island, and survivors drifted toward Malaysia’s Langkawi, though the precise location and timing remain under review.
- Two other boats from the same group have not been located, and authorities warn more victims could be found as the search area broadens and weather and currents complicate efforts.
- Those recovered include three Myanmar men, two Rohingya men and one Bangladeshi man among the survivors, and the first body identified was a Rohingya woman, according to Malaysian officials.