At least 17 people have been killed near Myanmar after a Rohingya boat on its way from Malaysia on Monday capsized near the Rakhine State's capital Sittwe. All of the deceased - including 10 women and seven men - have been identified as Rohingya Muslims, according to a rescue group.
The boat was transporting a total of 58 people, out of which eight people have been found alive and are being held at a police station, according to a law enforcement official. "They were met with a storm in the sea and the boat sank under huge waves," the official told CNN.
Local police and the Shwe Yaung Matta Foundation rescue group are conducting joint rescue operations to locate the 33 missing people. The victims reportedly belong from various townships of Myanmar in the Rakhine State.
The Rohingyas are considered one of the most persecuted communities of the world. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017, when the Myanmar military launched operations in response to attacks by a rebel group.
Myanmar security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands of Rohingya homes. However, the situation for them is not any more convenient in the overcrowded refugee camps of Bangladesh.
As a result, Rohingya are known for constantly embarking on risky journeys across the sea to seek a better life in Muslim-majority countries. Malaysia has been a common destination for the boats even though many Rohingya refugees who land there face detention.
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