Three people are confirmed dead and dozens more are still missing after a motorboat carrying more than 50 Rohingya people capsized off the coast of Rakhine State on Monday.
Locals says fishermen discovered the bodies of two women on a beach near the state capital Sittwe at around 4pm on the day of the incident, and the body of a third woman on Tuesday.
A resident of the area told Myanmar Now that eight survivors were also rescued on Monday near the village of Basare in Sittwe Township.
“Fishermen from Basare found some survivors and also recovered two bodies. The police took the bodies to the hospital. They also took the survivors away, I’m not sure where,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Another man living in the village said that local authorities have made no effort to find others who were aboard the boat when it went down. Locals have also refrained from searching because they fear the reaction of regime officials, he added.
According to the Rakhine Daily, a Facebook page set up by the junta-appointed state administration, the survivors said they were heading for Malaysia from the village of Ah Nauk Pyin in Rathedaung Township when their boat sank.
Myanmar Now has been unable to reach Hla Thein, the regime’s spokesperson for Rakhine State, for comment.
Locals say the northern Rakhine coast has been experiencing heavy rains and strong winds since August 1, preventing most fishermen from venturing out onto the water.
More than 80 villages in the region have been flooded in recent weeks, they added.
The Rohingya, a Muslim minority, have faced decades of persecution in Rakhine State. In 2017, nearly a million fled across the border into Bangladesh to escape military “clearance operations” ostensibly targeting militants.
Those who have remained in the state continue to be subject to restrictions on their movements and other forms of discrimination, making livelihoods all but impossible.
“They have to deal with travel restrictions, so they could not get jobs. That’s why they risked their lives to go [to Malaysia],” said the Basare villager.
Over the years, hundreds of Rohingya have died at sea, some due to severe weather conditions, others because of mechanical failures that left their overcrowded boats stranded for weeks at a time. Many others have faced arrest after being picked up by Myanmar or Thai navy vessels.
Hundreds of Rohingya were also missing and feared dead after Cyclone Mocha hit the Rakhine State coast near Sittwe on May 14. Most of the victims were living in camps for internally displaced persons or villages that were not evacuated by the regime ahead of the deadly storm.
