A wooden boat carrying dozens of Rohingya Muslim migrants capsized off Indonesia’s Aceh province on Wednesday, March 20, as reported by the news agency AP. According to the WTAQ report, the boat capsized due to high tides in the sea. However, Indonesian fishermen are present at the spot, helping to rescue migrants.
The United Nations refugee agency estimates about 2,000 Rohingya have arrived since last October, among droves of the persecuted religious minority in Myanmar who fled to Indonesia over the past year, most of them to Aceh.
More than 50 Rohingya were standing on a hull near the city of Meulaboh in West Aceh after the boat capsized in high tides, said Miftach Tjut Adek, chief of the fishing community in the province, reported WTAQ.