Dozens of Rohingya refugees, all men, have reportedly arrived on a beach in western Indonesia on a wooden boat with a malfunctioning motor.
They are characterized as feeble and hungry after a month at sea. At least three males were hospitalized.
It is unclear whether they belong to a group of at least 150 Rohingya who has been stranded at sea for weeks.
The Rohingya are a persecuted ethnic group in Myanmar, their country of origin (Burma).
The wooden boat carrying 57 men landed in Aceh province on Sunday morning, a local police spokesman told the AFP news agency.
“The boat’s engine was broken, and the wind dragged it to a beach in Ladong Village, Aceh Besar,” the official said.
They stated that they had been at sea for a month.
AFP was informed by a local immigration official that the refugees would be temporarily housed in a government facility.
According to additional reports, 58 guys arrived in Aceh.
It was initially unknown where the migrants had sailed from, however, many reside in refugee camps in Bangladesh, about 1,900 kilometers distant.
The United Nations encouraged countries surrounding the Andaman Sea in South East Asia to rescue a small fishing boat carrying at least 150 Rohingya migrants that had drifted for two weeks without power after leaving Bangladesh.
Several passengers, including children, had already passed away, according to others on board who were contacted through a satellite phone. They said that food and water had run out.
Sunday, the United Nations raised concern that the fishing vessel may have sunk.
In 2017, many Rohingya Muslims migrated to Bangladesh to escape Myanmar’s military’s genocide campaign.
In recent months, people have attempted to flee overcrowded refugee camps in southern Bangladesh by undertaking dangerous sea trips at this time of year, after the region’s monsoon has ended.
Their numbers have increased as a result of deteriorating conditions in the camps, and more Rohingya still in Myanmar is attempting to flee following last year’s military upheaval.
Over the preceding two months, at least five vessels are reported to have departed.
