Malaysia steps up search for missing Rohingya boats

Malaysian maritime patrols scoured coastal waters in the Andaman Sea yesterday in search of dozens of missing members of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority who police believe were on a boat that capsized and sank, killing at least 21 people.

Hundreds of Rohingyas boarded a vessel towards Malaysia two weeks ago, before being split into groups and sent to two boats on Thursday, said Khairul Azhar Nuruddin, police chief on Malaysia's northern Langkawi island, from where search operations are continuing across 255.7 square nautical miles.

There were around 70 people in the vessel that sank near Langkawi, while the fate of the other boat carrying 230 passengers remained unclear. They have found 13 survivors and seven bodies.

In Thailand, authorities have recovered four bodies, including two Rohingya girls. Over 5,100 Rohingyas boarded boats to leave Myanmar and Bangladesh between January and early November this year, says data from the UN Refugee Agency.