More than 150 Rohingya rescued off Thai coast

YANGON — More than 150 Rohingya people have been rescued from a waterlogged boat near the Thai coast, Myanmar's military said Thursday (Dec 8).

Thousands of the mostly Muslim Rohingya, heavily persecuted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, risk their lives each year in long, expensive sea journeys, often in vessels in poor condition, trying to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.

In the latest incident, the boat carrying 48 women and 106 men was spotted by an offshore oil rig around 240 kilometres southeast of Myeik town, the junta said.

The rig — jointly run by the state Myanmar Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and a private partner — dispatched two rescue boats at around 8pm on Wednesday, the statement added.

It is unclear when or exactly from where the vessel carrying the 154 people departed.

However, an earlier junta statement said the group had come from a refugee camp in Bangladesh and intended to reach Indonesia.

Sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh are home to some one million Rohingya.

Most fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017, bringing with them harrowing stories of murder, rape and arson.

But dire conditions in the sprawling camps often force them to move again, undertaking the perilous voyages to Malaysia or Indonesia. AFP