Originally published on November 4, 2013
A boat carrying roughly 70 Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing sectarian tensions capsized on Sunday (Nov 3) in the Bay of Bengal off the western coast of Burma. At least 50 people are feared dead. Only eight survivors have been found so far.
A wooden boat carrying some 70 Rohingya Muslims left Ohn Taw Gyi village, about 19 kilometers north of Sittwe, at around 3 a.m., according to a CBC report. The ship broke apart roughly four hours later. Women, children and infants were among those on board.
The boat was reportedly headed for Bangladesh, though some reports say it was bound for Malaysia. The Rohingya Muslims are believed to have left a camp around the Rakhine state capital.
According to Reuters: "Ohntawgyi was the site of clashes in August between Rohingya and police who opened fire on a crowd that had gathered to protest after the battered corpse of a Rohingya fisherman washed ashore.
"The security officer said more violence erupted on Saturday in Pauktaw, an area about two hours northeast of Sittwe by boat, killing at least three Rohingya and one Rakhine.
"The body of a Rohingya man was discovered in an area near a Buddhist pagoda where a group of Rohingya had gone from their camp to collect firewood, he said. Police confronted an angry crowd at the camp and opened fire, wounding three people, including one who later died in hospital.
"The United Nations refugee agency has warned of a mass exodus of Rohingya as the rainy season ends in coming weeks.
"A spokesman for the agency in Geneva said about 24,000 Rohingya were thought to have left Myanmar by boat this year, and more than 400 had died or gone missing during the journey."
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