‘Many more could die’: Urgent plea for Rohingya refugees trapped at sea | Rohingya News | USAEMALL.com

At least one passenger on a ship carrying 185 refugees has died, with dozens extra in ‘critical condition’, warns UNHCR.

Fears are rising for scores of Rohingya refugees believed to be stranded at sea within the Indian Ocean, after a ship they set off in from Bangladesh noticed its engine fail.

The group of some 185 Rohingya, principally ladies and youngsters, are in determined want of rescue after falling into misery close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stated on Saturday.

The Rohingya had been fleeing overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, the place that they had taken shelter after escaping their homeland in Myanmar. More than 750,000 Rohingya had been pressured to flee Myanmar in 2017 after the navy launched a crackdown on the Muslim minority, torching their properties and properties. The United States accused the navy of committing genocide in opposition to the Rohingya individuals, whereas a genocide case in opposition to Myanmar is underneath method on the UN’s prime court docket.

The UN company stated at the least one of many boat’s passengers had already died, with a dozen extra in “critical condition”.

“Many more could die under the watch of numerous coastal states without timely rescue and disembarkation to the nearest place of safety,” the UNHCR warned. “It is really a desperate situation.”

Thousands of the principally Muslim Rohingya, closely persecuted in Myanmar, undertake dangerous sea journeys from their nation and refugee camps in Bangladesh yearly making an attempt to achieve Malaysia or Indonesia.

More than 2,000 Rohingya are believed to have tried the dangerous journey to Southeast Asian international locations in 2022, in response to UNHCR.

Since final 12 months, greater than 570 individuals, together with Rohingya refugees, have been reported lifeless or lacking at sea within the area, it stated.

When it involves the individuals at the moment adrift, the company emphasised that “a bigger tragedy is preventable with timely efforts to save lives”.

“This situation once again underlines the importance of all states in the region deploying their full search and rescue capacities to avoid human disasters happening at this scale.”