Hundreds of the Muslim Rohingyas undertake dangerous sea journeys from Myanmar (Representational)
Geneva:
The United Nations referred to as Saturday for the pressing rescue of 185 individuals, primarily ladies and kids, on a distressed boat final heard to be close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands within the Indian Ocean.
Round 70 of these onboard are youngsters and 88 are ladies, the UNHCR refugee company stated in an announcement.
“Not less than a dozen are feared to be in crucial situation with one particular person reported to have already died,” it stated.
“Many extra might die underneath the watch of quite a few coastal states with out well timed rescue and disembarkation to the closest place of security.”
UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch instructed AFP the company was reaching out to all of the coastal authorities within the space to rescue the migrants, who’re believed to be Rohingya.
“It’s actually a determined scenario,” he stated.
Hundreds of the principally Muslim Rohingya, closely persecuted in Myanmar, undertake dangerous sea journeys from Myanmar and refugee camps in Bangladesh yearly making an attempt to achieve Malaysia or Indonesia.
Greater than 2,000 Rohingya are believed to have tried the dangerous journey to Southeast Asian nations in 2022, in line with UNHCR.
And since final yr, greater than 570 individuals, together with Rohingya refugees, have been reported lifeless or lacking at sea within the area, it stated.
In terms of the individuals presently adrift, the company emphasised that “an even bigger tragedy is preventable with well timed efforts to save lots of lives”.
“This example as soon as once more underlines the significance of all states within the area deploying their full search and rescue capacities to keep away from human disasters occurring at this scale.”
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)