September 29, 2017 5:16 PM

printer

Death toll from Rohingya boat accident likely to cross 60: UN

The UN migration agency on Fridday said the death toll from a boat which capsized yesterday off Bangladesh carrying Rohingya refugees is set to pass 60. International Organization for Migration spokesman Joel Millman told reporters in Geneva that 23 people have been confirmed dead and 40 are missing and presumed drowned. <br/><br/>Survivors from the accident told IOM staff that the boat was carrying about 80 people, including 50 children, who were believed to be fleeing violence from Myanmar's northern Rakhine state. Witnesses and survivors previously said that the overturned vessel was just metres from the coast in rough waters, after it was lashed by torrential rain and high winds. <br/><br/>Millman added that the "captain" of the vessel, who is a suspected trafficker, is missing and presumed dead, but not included in IOM's death toll, which counts only the migrants.

Most Read
View All arrow-right

No posts found.