DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — At least 250 people, including Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals, were either feared dead or missing after a boat capsized in the Andaman Sea recently on the way to Malaysia, according to the U.N. refugee and migration agencies.
While details remained sketchy, Bangladesh Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Sabbir Alam Suzan told The Associated Press on Wednesday that nine people, including three Rohingya and six Bangladeshis, were rescued on April 9. Suzan said that the Bangladesh flag carrier M.T. Meghna Pride rescued the nine people when the crew found them floating at sea after the capsizing.
The status of any search on Wednesday or when the boat sank weren’t immediately clear.
UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, and the International Organization for Migration, or IOM, said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the trawler departed from Teknaf in the southern Bangladeshi district of Cox’s Bazar carrying a large number of passengers to Malaysia.
The IOM said Wednesday in a new statement that the boat reportedly sank on April 9.
Overcrowding, strong winds and rough seas caused the vessel to lose control and sink, the agencies said.
A Rohingya woman who survived the capsizing and was rescued narrated her ordeal on Wednesday. The survivor said that she set out for Malaysia on April 4, and about 20 women were on board when the boat sank.
“I drifted in the sea for two days and one night,” said Rahela Begum, who was brought to a refugee camp. “There were many people on the trawler, but after it sank, I have no idea what happened to them or where they went,”
“After drifting in the sea for two days and one night, the piece of wood I was holdi …
