Four killed as boat carrying 45 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar sinks

Some 23 people, on a boat carrying up to 45 Rohingya Muslims, have been rescued and a dozen of them are being treated.

A Bangladesh official says a boat carrying up to 45 Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar has capsized in the Bay of Bengal and four bodies have been recovered from the water. It is not clear how many are missing.

A man holds an umbrella as he stands on a boat, which capsized with a group of Rohingya refugees at Bailakhali near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Monday. (Reuters)

Local government administrator Mohammed Mikaruzzaman said some 23 people have been rescued and a dozen of them are being treated.

The boat capsized on Tuesday morning near Inani beach in Cox’s Bazar district.

More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have reached refugee camps in Bangladesh since Myanmar’s security forces launched operations August 25 that the United Nations and others have described as “ethnic cleansing.”

About 190 people trying to flee have died in boat accidents in the Bay of Bengal or nearby waterways.