Dozens of Rohingya refugees have been found by an Indonesian search and rescue ship. The ship began pulling survivors standing on the capsized wooden boat’s hull to safety.
An AP photographer aboard the rescue ship said ten people had been taken aboard local fishing boats, and another 59 were being saved by the Indonesian ship.
Men, women and children who were weak and became soaked from the night’s rain wept as the rescue operation got underway, and survivors were taken aboard a rubber dinghy to the rescue boat.
It was unclear how many people were aboard the small craft when it capsized off Indonesia’s northernmost coast on Wednesday. However, the six survivors local fishermen rescued estimated the number to be between 60 and 100.
Indonesia’s search and rescue team only left Banda Aceh city many hours after the boat capsized and initially found it difficult to locate it in the choppy waters off the coast.
Amiruddin, a local fishing community leader, said those rescued indicated the boat was sailing east when it started leaking, and then strong currents pushed it toward the west of Aceh. The six said others were still trying to survive on the capsized craft.
