Thai authorities save 51 Rohingya refugees in Satun

BANGKOK – Thai authorities rescued 51 Rohingyas including two children in southern Satun province yesterday.

Local fishermen rescued 10 Rohingyas from the sea in Satun’s La-ngu district and another 41 were found on an island in Thung Wa district.

Police are investigating whether both groups came from the same boat and are victims of human trafficking. 

La-ngu district police superintendent Sitthipong Husrangsi said local fishermen found the 10 exhausted men clinging to a polystyrene foam.

“They have been placed at a temporary shelter pending further investigation,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Satun Provincial Administration said upon interrogation it was found that the 10 men, who were from Rakhine, had escaped from a shelter in Bangladesh.

“The men said their overloaded boat that was bound for Indonesia was hit by a storm forcing them to abandon the vessel. They were in the sea for four days before being rescued by local fishermen,” said the statement. 

Meanwhile, authorities extended their search after receiving information that more Rohingyas had been pulled onto a beach nearby.

“They found another 41 Rohingyas including two young boys on an island off the coast of Thung Wa district. All of them were found in a hungry and dehydrated state,” the statement said. – Bernama, September 7, 2022