Rohingya survivor recounts boat tragedy; death toll climbs to 26

The death toll from the sinking of a boat carrying members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority climbed to 26 on Nov 11, as a survivor recounted a harrowing journey that left him floating for days in the Andaman Sea.

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“I saw one person die,’ Mr Iman Sharif, 18, told reporters shortly after he was rescued on Nov Il and taken into custody by Malaysian authorities.

He said he was aboard a large boat for eight days before being transferred to a smaller one with about 70 people. But the vessel sank shortly afterwards, and he clung on to wreckage for days before washing up on a Malaysian island.

Fourteen survivors, mainly Rohingya and Bangladeshi citizens, have been rescued in Malaysian waters since rescue operations started on Nov 9.

The Malaysian authorities said another eight bodies had been recovered by Nov 11, taking the total to 20.

On the Thai side, an official told AFP on condition of anonymity that six bodies had been found.

Mr Romli Mustafa, regional director at Malaysia’s maritime agency, said that the Malaysian authorities would continue search operations until Nov 15, while a Thai rescue worker said on Nov Il that search teams will widen their coverage around Koh Tarutao, where most of the bodies were found.