Fears grew on Tuesday for the welfare of hundreds of Rohingya migrants on a boat bounced between waters off Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia that has not been heard from in more than 60 hours. Around 300 men, women and children were found pleading for help Thursday on the drifting trawler which has become emblematic of Southeast Asia’s growing migrant crisis and the region’s reluctance to offer sanctuary to the passengers. The Thai navy said it had repaired the engine and provided visibly thin passengers with food, water and medicine on both Thursday and Saturday before “escorting” the vessel into international waters.
But its location is now unknown. Thai authorities insist the passengers wanted to travel southwards onto Malaysia and say they have had no news of the vessel since around 9 pm Saturday. “We don’t have any information on that boat,” Thai navy official Veerapong Nakprasit told AFP on Tuesday. Indonesian and Malaysian officials have declined to comment on the status of a vessel which has been subject to what one rights group has coined “maritime ping-pong”.