Boats with Rohingya refugees capsize off Indonesia

MEULABOH, Mar 20: A boat carrying Rohingya refugees and a fishing boat trying to help them capsized in waters off Indonesias westernmost coast on Wednesday, with six people rescued and some carried away by strong currents, local fishermen said.

The mostly Muslim Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on long and expensive sea journeys, often in flimsy boats, to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.

"We received a report from fishermen in West Aceh that a boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsized in the sea near Meulaboh. A fisherman saw the Rohingyas at 8:00 am (0100 GMT) with their boat sinking," Nanda Ferdiansyah from West Aceh traditional fishing community told AFP    —AFP