At least a 100 Rohingya stranded in boat off India’s coast

At least 100 ethnic Rohingya are stranded in a boat off India’s Andaman Islands and as many as 16-20 may have have died of thirst, hunger or drowned, said two Myanmar Rohingya activist groups.
Each year many Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority, risk their lives boarding rickety vessels to escape violence in Myanmar and squalor in Bangladesh refugee camps. Many attempt to reach Malaysia.
The stranded boat was approached by five Indian ships late on Tuesday, a source told Reuters.
Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project which works to support Myanmar’s Rohingyas said, “We estimate that probably as many as 20 have died… some from hunger and thirst, and others jumped overboard in desperation. This is absolutely awful and outrageous.”
Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group said the group had been adrift for more than two weeks.