In a phone call, a person on the boat can be heard saying, “We are dying here” and “We are famished,” and indicating that several people have already perished. The boat departed Bangladesh for Malaysia at the end of November, but its engine failed roughly two weeks ago.
On a boat carrying 160 Rohingya refugees that are adrift in Indian waters in the Andaman Sea, several people have reportedly perished from malnutrition.
In a phone call, a passenger on the ship is heard saying, “We are dying here” and “We are famished,” adding that some passengers have already perished.
According to family and campaigners, the boat left Bangladesh at the end of November and was on its route to Malaysia when its engine failed approximately two weeks ago.
And food and water supplies for people on board are running low.
The brother of one of the individuals in the boat is pleading for immediate assistance and rescue.
Mohammed Rizwan Khan is a Rohingya refugee residing in a Bangladeshi refugee camp. He reported that his sister Hatemonnesa and her five-year-old kid are on the sinking ship.
He stated that Hatemonnesa decided to embark on the perilous trek to find better chances for her daughter in Malaysia due to the poor conditions at the camp.
Mohammed has not been able to communicate with his sibling since she left, but he was able to chat with several people on the boat through satellite phone on Sunday.
In the phone call, a person can be heard saying, “We are dying here” and “We are famished,” adding that deaths have already occurred.
Brother displays grave concern
Mohammed told, “I’m quite concerned” because he hasn’t been able to communicate with them since then.
Lilianne Fan, chair of the Rohingya working group of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, has spoken with families of individuals on board and reported that those on board are in grave distress and “begging for assistance.”
She stated, “Turning a blind eye is a method to dodge accountability,” adding that international rescue attempts have been insufficient.
She has appealed to the Indian authorities as the latest geolocation data indicates the vessel is in Indian waters near the Nicobar Islands.
UN urges rescue bid
The United Nations has also issued an appeal, requesting that all responsible states rescue those on board and allow them to disembark safely by their legal and humanitarian responsibilities.
More than 1,900 people have died attempting to cross the Andaman Sea between Bangladesh and Myanmar since the beginning of the year, according to the United Nations.
The majority of individuals at risk are Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar in the hundreds of thousands in 2017 to avoid military persecution.
