COX'S BAZAR: At least eight people drowned and dozens more are missing after a boat packed with Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh sank on Monday, the latest victims of a half a million strong exodus sparked by an army crackdown in Myanmar.
The boat was carrying an estimated 50 people when it went down in the estuary of the Naf river that divides the two countries, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) area commander Lieutenant Colonel S.M. Ariful Islam told AFP.
Nearly 200 Rohingya have drowned over the last six weeks making the perilous crossing into Bangladesh, many in small wooden fishing boats that are dangerously overloaded.
They are fleeing violence in Myanmar's sectarian-plagued Rakhine state where the United Nations has accused troops of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
Islam said the bodies of the eight confirmed victims had washed up on the river banks, while 21 survivors had swum to safety.
"Eight people were killed. The majority were children," he said, adding the small fishing trawler was overloaded with refugees desperate to escape.
Coast and border guards were conducting a search and rescue operation in the Naf river, he said.
More than half a million Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh over the last seven weeks to escape a military crackdown that the the UN has said amounts to ethnic cleansing.
The stateless Muslim minority has faced decades of persecution in mainly Buddhist Myanmar.
The latest influx began in late August after attacks by Rohingya militants on police posts in Myanmar.
Another border guard told AFP the boat sank was just 200 yards (metres) from the Bangladesh coast when it sank in rough waters.
Fazlul Haq, a local official, said the boat was owned by a Bangladeshi villager who had made large amounts of money ferrying Rohingya into the country.
He said the small fishing trawlers were highly vulnerable to accidents as they approached the shore, where they are often battered by large waves.
Refugees are often charged exorbitant fees for the trip.
The latest accident came a week after another boat packed with Rohingya refugees capsized in the area, killing at least 34 people.
Eight dead as Rohingya boat sinks off Bangladesh
Eight dead as Rohingya boat sinks off Bangladesh
Putin and Trump discuss Iran and Ukraine wars: Kremlin
- Putin and Trump held a one-hour call in their first talks since December
MOSCOW: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Monday discussed the Iran war and Ukraine conflict during a “frank and constructive” telephone call, the Kremlin said.
Putin and Trump held a one-hour call in their first talks since December and Washington sought the discussion, Putin’s diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
“The accent was placed on the situation surrounding the conflict with Iran and the bilateral negotiations underway with the representatives of the United States on settling the Ukrainian question,” Ushakov said.
Ushakov said Putin called for a “quick political and diplomatic settlement” to the US-Israeli war against Iran, which has been a key ally for Russia.
The Russian leader also gave Trump “a description of the current situation on the line of contact where Russian troops are progressing with a lot of success,” he added, referring to the Ukraine war.
Putin “positively evaluated the mediation efforts undertaken” by Trump in the Ukraine conflict, the adviser said. A series of talks have been held between Russian and US officials and between Russian, US and Ukrainian officials, but with no breakthrough in efforts to reach a ceasefire.
Ushakov said Washington had wanted to “discuss a series of extremely important questions linked to the current international situation.”
“The conversation was serious and constructive,” he added.
Trump and Putin held a summit in Alaska in August last year.
