A number of people are believed to have died of starvation on a beached boat, carrying 160 Rohingya refugees, which is drifting in Indian waters in the Andaman Sea.
During a phone call, a person on the ship is heard saying ‘we are dying here’ and ‘we are starving’, adding that some have already lost their lives.
The boat left Bangladesh in late November and was heading for Malaysia, but about two weeks ago its engine failed, relatives and activists say.
And food and water supplies are running out for those on board.
The brother of one of the occupants of the boat calls for emergency help and his rescue.
Mohammad Rezuwan Khan is a Rohingya refugee living in a camp in Bangladesh. He said his sister Hatemonnesa is on the stricken ship with her five-year-old daughter.
Speaking to Sky News, he said Hatemonnesa had decided to embark on a risky journey due to dire conditions at the camp and hoped to find better opportunities for his daughter in Malaysia.
Mohammed has not been able to speak to his brother since leaving but managed to speak to some people on the boat on Sunday via a satellite phone.
In the phone call, a person is heard saying “we are dying here” and “we are starving”, adding that there have already been deaths.
Mohammed Rezuwan Khan, along with his niece Umme Salima, told Sky News he was very worried
Brother Expresses Deep Concern
“I’m very worried,” Mohammed told Sky News, saying he hasn’t been able to speak to them since then.
Lilianne Fan, Chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group, spoke to relatives of those on board and said those on the boat were in great distress and “are begging for help. “.
She said: “Closing your eyes is a way to avoid responsibility,” adding that rescue efforts by different countries have been insufficient.
She appealed to the Indian government because the latest geolocation shows that the boat is near the Nicobar Islands in Indian waters.
Read more:
Rohingya refugees found on Indonesian beach after spending more than a month at sea
UN calls for rescue offer
The United Nations also issued an appeal, asking all responsible States to rescue those on board and allow them to disembark safely in accordance with legal and humanitarian obligations.
According to the UN, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people attempting to cross the Andaman Sea from Bangladesh and Myanmar, with more than 1,900 people dying since January.
Most of those risking their lives are Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar by the hundreds of thousands in 2017 to escape military persecution.
