At least 11 people lost their lives and 29 went missing when a boat carrying migrants capsized near Malaysia in the South China sea.
The incident is not a new one as migrants meet similar fate while trying to escape their native countries.
The boats meet similar incidents in the waters of Malaysia as the Rohingya refugees try to flee their country and enter South Asia to pursue a better lifestyle and living conditions.
According to the reports, the boat capsized in the cold water near Malaysian coast around 4 30 am local time. It was near Tanjung Balau coast, southeastern Malaysia.
The Malaysian authorities stated that the boat had at least 60 migrants on it and the cause of the boat sinking was bad weather.
The authorities have not made the revelation about the nationalities or the identities of the people who went missing or were found dead but referred to them as “illegal immigrants.”
According to the spokesperson of the Malaysian army, all the people on board were of Indonesian descent.
“The boat was believed to have traveled from Indonesia and capsized after being hit by strong waves,” said Johor maritime operations deputy director, Captain Simon Templer Lo Ak Tusa.
These incidents have started to occur rapidly in the region as most of the refugees belonging to the Rohingya ethnic group try to flee from the brutality of their country.
“We would like to advise people, especially the undocumented migrants, … to use valid routes to prevent such incidents from recurring,” stated the spokesperson of the Malaysian maritime agency.
It is stated that more than 700,000 Rohingya people have fled their homes in Myanmar since 2017 when the country’s military started a crackdown campaign of violence against the Muslim ethnic group which was in a minority.
The Rohingya Muslims tried to displace themselves in nearby nations such as Bangladesh but the impoverished living conditions in the refugee Camps compelled them to move to other destinations for a better lifestyle.
Many Rohingyas have attempted to flee to Malaysia however Malaysian authorities have also initiated a crackdown to prevent these migrant carrying boats from docking on their ports.
