Rohingya vessel in Indian waters, UNHCR calls for immediate rescue

New Delhi: A boat carrying 90 Rohingya refugees and three Bangladesh crewmen drifted into India's territorial waters on Monday, with calls for immediate rescue mounting from UN agencies and humanitarian groups.

The boat has a satphone and the crew confirmed to humanitarian group 'Arakan Project' the presence of 65 Rohingya women and girls, five children below the age of 2 and 20 men.

"Since the boat's engines stopped functioning six days ago, it has been drifting towards India's Andaman islands from its course.

"The Rohingyas boarded the boat south of the Bangladesh seaside town of Cox's Bazar on 11th February and was headed towards Southeast Asia when its engines broke down," Chris Lewa, director of the Thailand-based "Arakan Project" told this writer.

Lewa, who has long association with the Rohingyas through her humanitarian project to provide relief of the hapless refugees often stranded in hostile host countries or at sea, said eight of these 90 refugees have already died.

"They have no drinking water or food left, so they are drinking sea water in desperation. That is why some of them are collapsing. "Only the Indian navy or coast guards in Andamans can save them," said Chris Lewa, adding her organisation have informed the UNHCR and the Western embassies in Dhaka about the "huge humanitarian crisis" over the boat people.