MEULABOH: The bodies of at least 11 Rohingya refugees have been recovered off Indonesia’s westernmost coast after their boat believed to be carrying around 150 people capsized last week, officials said on Monday.Indonesian rescuers called off the search for any remaining Rohingya refugees on Friday after 75 were rescued, despite reports from some survivors that dozens of people were swept away when their boat and another trying to help them capsized days earlier.

The head of the local search and rescue operation, Muhammad Fathur Rachman said nearly half-a-dozen Rohingya were found dead at sea 14 nautical miles (26 kilometres) from shore.

“Six more bodies are being evacuated right now,” he said by phone on Monday afternoon.

“They were all women. We heard about the bodies from a fisherman. The bodies will be taken to the hospital.” Earlier on Monday, United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) officials said five bodies had been recovered in recent days. On Thursday, authorities staged a dramatic rescue of 69 Rohingya who had been adrift at sea for weeks before the boat capsized, with many found clinging to the hull of the overturned vessel. Six others were rescued by fishermen on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2024