YANGON, Myanmar — A boat carrying at least 70 Muslim Rohingya capsized and sank Sunday off the western coast of Myanmar, an aid worker said. Only eight survivors have been found.
The boat was in the Bay of Bengal and headed for Bangladesh when it went down early Sunday, said Abdul Melik, who works for a humanitarian organization in the region.
The incident comes after the United Nations warned that an annual and often deadly exodus of desperate people from Myanmar's Rakhine state appears to have begun. The exodus usually kicks off in November, when seas begin to calm following the annual monsoon.
As many as 1,500 people have fled in the last week, Dan McNorton, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, said at a press briefing Saturday in Geneva.
He said the agency had received several reports of drownings and was seeking details from authorities.
— Associated Press
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/boat-carrying-70-muslim-rohingya-sinks-off-myanmar-2/
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