(Kedah, 9th) A boat carrying about 90 illegal immigrants sank near the Malaysia-Thai maritime border. So far, 6 people have been rescued and 1 Myanmar woman has died.
Kedah State Chief Police Datuk Azri, in an interview with Berita Harian, stated that the boat was originally part of a large vessel carrying around 300 people. When it neared Malaysian waters, the human smuggling syndicate split the group across 3 smaller boats.
He said that three days ago, as the vessel was approaching the border, the group was divided and transferred onto 3 small boats, each carrying about 90 people.
He said one of these boats, carrying 90 people, is suspected to have sunk, while the other 2 have yet to be found.
He said the first 3 people rescued were Myanmar men, while another 3 found in the afternoon included 2 Rohingya and 1 Bangladeshi.
"In addition, the body of a Rohingya woman was also found floating at sea."
He said that these illegal immigrants each paid the syndicate about RM13,000 to be smuggled into Malaysia.
"The large vessel carrying 300 people set off a month ago, with Myanmar, Bangladeshi, and Rohingya nationals on board. It is understood they each paid RM13,000, with some even selling land to collect money for the syndicate in hopes of being smuggled to Malaysia."
He also said that the police are continuing their investigation, and search and rescue operations are actively ongoing, with the assistance of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the Marine Police, to locate other illegal immigrants and the remaining boats.