Hundreds of migrants are feared dead after a vessel carrying scores of refugees sank, with at least 21 bodies being recovered so far during rescue efforts.
Authorities have said that 13 survivors have been pulled from the water and are currently in detention while inquiries into their immigration status proceed.
The fate of a second vessel, believed to be transporting 230 passengers, remains unknown.
Search and rescue teams from Malaysia and Thailand are scouring the Andaman Sea following the sinking of the boat carrying Rohingya refugees.
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Of the 21 bodies recovered so far, 12 were found in Malaysian waters and nine in Thailand.
The tragedy unfolded when approximately 300 Rohingya refugees departed Myanmar's Rakhine state aboard a large vessel two weeks ago.
According to Malaysian police chief Khairul Azhar Nuruddin, the passengers were transferred to two smaller boats last Thursday in an apparent attempt to avoid detection whilst approaching Malaysian shores.
One vessel carrying roughly 70 people sank in Thai waters that same day.
The fate of a second vessel, believed to be transporting 230 passengers, remains unknown
|REUTERS
Search teams have been deployed across 170 square nautical miles of ocean near Langkawi Island in the Malacca Strait.
The regional maritime agency chief confirmed that search efforts are continuing despite challenging weather conditions, with teams covering an extensive area near Langkawi Island.
Romli Mustafa, the regional maritime chief, acknowledged that survival prospects diminish rapidly without life jackets, though some individuals might be clinging to debris.
"Weather conditions are not so friendly but anyhow, we're trying our level best," Mr Mustafa said.
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Search and rescue operations are still underway
|REUTERS
Malaysian authorities confirmed that rescue operations could extend for up to a week, with air and sea patrols deployed across the region.
Any survivors, including the 13 recovered so far, could face potential immigration charges as Malaysia maintains its policy of detaining illegal migrants.
UN data reveals that over 5,100 Rohingya have attempted sea crossings since January, with nearly 600 reported dead or missing.
The journeys typically span seven to ten days, beginning in Bangladesh with the intention of reaching Malaysian waters.
Some vessels also make stops in Myanmar to collect additional passengers fleeing the civil war in Rakhine state.
As many as 1.3 million Rohingya Muslims are currently crammed in Bangladeshi refugee camps, fleeing escalating violence in the neighbouring Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
“People are desperate," explained Naser Khan, a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh.
"People are dying in the fighting, dying from hunger. So some think it's better to die at sea than to die slowly here,” he told Reuters.
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