Indonesian authorities in Aceh Jaya recovered two bodies from the coast of West Aceh on Saturday, following reports from local fishermen of several other drowning victims who were washed up after a vessel carrying Rohingya migrants capsized earlier in the week.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) stated that more than 70 Rohingya individuals are “presumed dead or missing” in what could be the largest loss of life in such an incident this year. Seventy-five people were rescued from the vessel.
“We have retrieved two bodies from the shores, both of whom are females,” said Mirza Saprinadi, the national head of operations at Indonesia’s search and rescue agency. He also mentioned that immigration officers had confirmed the victims to be Rohingya.
The bodies were discovered on the western shore of Aceh province in Sumatra, carried there by the current. Local fishermen reported finding several other drowning victims in the same area, according to Mirza.
Rohingya people have been leaving Myanmar, a country where they face discrimination and persecution as a stateless minority group. They are often considered as outsiders from South Asia, denied citizenship rights, and subjected to various forms of abuse.
Data from UNHCR showed that more than 2,300 Rohingya arrived in Indonesia last year, exceeding the total number of arrivals in the preceding four years combined. In 2023, the death toll of Rohingya individuals attempting to flee Myanmar or Bangladesh reached at least 569, the highest since 2014.
Reported by Hidayatullah Tahjuddin in Aceh Jaya, this story was written by Bernadette Christina and edited by Alex Richardson.
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