4 Rohingya dead as boat capsized in Bay of Bengal

By Mutasim Billah

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - At least four people have been killed after a boat carrying Rohingya Muslims capsized in the Bay of Bengal, close to the southern Bangladesh shore on Tuesday, an official said.

Abul Khair, in-charge of local police station, confirmed the incident and said 28 passengers were safely rescued.

Since Aug. 25, over 607,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine into Bangladesh, according to the UN.

The refugees are fleeing a military operation in which security forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes and torched Rohingya villages. According to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali, around 3,000 Rohingya have been killed in the crackdown.

UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in a new shipwreck.

“Six families – 42 people in total, many of them women and children left on a fishing boat from Gozon Dia south of Maungdaw town in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state around 2 am. They ran into rough seas and approached shore in the Imamerdail area of Ukhia sub-district in Bangladesh,” the UN agency quoted survivors as saying.

“A 15-year-old boy died on the spot. In all 22 injured people were rushed to hospitals and NGO clinics but three reportedly died en route. The remaining 19 were taken to UNHCR’s transit center near Kutupalong camp,” it added.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.