A number of people have reportedly died from starvation on a stranded boat, carrying 160 Rohingya refugees, which is adrift in Indian waters in the Andaman Sea.

In a phone call, a person on the vessel is heard saying “we are dying here” and “we are starving”, adding that some have already lost their lives.

The boat left Bangladesh at the end of November and was heading to Malaysia, but around two weeks ago its engine failed, according to relatives and activists.

And food and water supplies are running out for those on board.

The brother of one of those in the boat is calling for urgent assistance and for them to be rescued.

Mohammed Rezuwan Khan is a Rohingya refugee living in a camp in Bangladesh. He said his sister Hatemonnesa is on the stricken vessel with her five-year-old daughter.

Speaking to Sky News, he said Hatemonnesa decided to embark on the risky journey because of the dire conditions in the camp and hoped to find better opportunities for her daughter in Malaysia.

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Mohammed hasn’t been able to speak to his sibling since she left but managed to talk to some people on the boat on Sunday via a satellite phone.

In the phone call, a person is heard saying “we are dying here” and “we are starving”, adding there have already been deaths.

Brother expresses deep worry

“I’m very concerned,” Mohammed told Sky News, saying that he hasn’t been able to speak to them again since then.

Lilianne Fan, chair of the Rohingya working group at the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, has spoken to relatives of those on board and said that people on the boat are in serious distress and “crying for help”.

She said: “Turning a blind eye is a way of avoiding responsibility,” adding that rescue efforts from different countries have been inadequate.

She has made an appeal to the Indian government as the latest geolocation shows the boat is near the Nicobar Islands in Indian waters.

Read more:
Rohingya refugees found on Indonesian beach after spending over a month at sea

UN urges rescue bid

The United Nations has also made an appeal, asking all responsible states to rescue those on the boat and allow them to safely disembark in line with legal and humanitarian obligations.

According to the UN, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people attempting to cross the Andaman Sea from Bangladesh and Myanmar, with more than 1,900 people dying since January.

Most of those risking their lives are Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar in their hundreds of thousands in 2017, to escape military persecution.

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