Eleven found dead in Thai-Malaysia search after Rohingya Migrant boat sinks

13 survivors found as authorities from both nations deploy air assets; status of a separate boat with 230 passengers remains unclear

Staff Reporter

Nov 10, 2025, 05:01 AM2 min read

Eleven found dead in Thai-Malaysia search after Rohingya Migrant boat sinks

Rohingya refugees wait to be rescued from the hull of their capsized boat as a vessel of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency approaches in waters off Aceh province on March 21/ previous photo

The number of confirmed dead after a boat carrying persecuted Rohingya refugees sank near the Thailand-Malaysia border rose to 11 on Monday(October 10), as authorities from both nations scour the waters for survivors.

According to Reuters, the status of a separate boat carrying 230 passengers remains unclear, Malaysian authorities said. So far, 13 survivors, mostly Rohingya, have been found from the initial sinking.

The victims include seven bodies recovered by Malaysia's maritime agency and four found by Thai authorities, including two children.

A staff of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency checks on a survivor who was rescued by a fishing boat's crew after a boat from Buthidaung, Myanmar, sank near the Malaysia–Thailand border/ Collected

At a press conference on the island of Langkawi, Malaysian maritime officials said air assets were being deployed by both Thailand and Malaysia in a joint operation to search for more survivors.

"We have got very good... relations with the Thai agency so we have got good communication and exchanges of information," said Romli Mustafa, director of the maritime agency in Malaysia's Kedah and Perlis.

The tragedy highlights the dangers faced by the Rohingya, who regularly attempt perilous sea journeys to escape violence in their home country of Myanmar and difficult conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that more than 5,100 Rohingya have taken boats to leave Myanmar and Bangladesh between January and early November of this year. Nearly 600 people from these journeys have been reported dead or missing.

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