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Hundreds Missing After Migrant Boat Sinks Near Thailand–Malaysia Border

The case highlights perilous Rohingya sea journeys, with traffickers splitting a larger vessel into smaller boats near the coast.

Overview

  • Malaysian maritime officials reported 10 survivors and one recovered body after a boat carrying roughly 90 people capsized near Tarutao Island, with hundreds from the wider voyage still unaccounted for.
  • Authorities say about 300 people departed Buthidaung in Myanmar before they were told to transfer into three smaller boats to evade detection near Malaysia.
  • Two companion boats remain missing as Malaysian agencies widen search-and-rescue operations off Langkawi and caution that more victims may be found.
  • Survivors include men from Myanmar, Rohingya, and one Bangladeshi, while the recovered body was identified as a Rohingya woman, according to police and state media.
  • Some reports cite different tallies, including seven dead and 13 rescued, as officials warn active smuggling networks and shifting seas are complicating the response.