Boats evacuating refugees sink off Myanmar
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Yangon - Boats evacuating Rohingya refugees from a coastal town in the western Myanmar sank Tuesday with hundreds on board.
A vessel tugging two wooden boats packed with refugees of sectarian violence sank during the evacuation in preparation for Cyclone Mahasen, said James Munn, spokesman for the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"There were less than 200 on board," Munn said. "There are survivors, but we don't know how many." The evacuees were from a camp in Pauktaw town, one of several temporary shelters set up for 17,000 Muslims left homeless by clashes with Buddhist communities, resulting in up to 200 dead and at least125,000 displaced.
International aid agencies and human rights groups have warned that the overcrowded camps, which lack proper sanitation and health facilities, will be vulnerable to flooding and epidemics during the rainy season that starts in June.
The threat has been accelerated by the cyclone that is expected Rakhine coastline on Wednesday or Thursday.
President Thein Sein on Monday ordered authorities in the Rakhine state to organise evacuations of the most vulnerable Rohingya.
"The government is working in towards our plan, in pinpointing the13 most vulnerable camps from this storm," Munn said. The UN office estimates 37,000 Rohingyas will need to be taken to safer ground.
In neighboring Bangladesh, nearly 50,000 volunteers in coastal districts were put on alert.
The Cyclone Preparedness Programme was planning to be operational in 13 districts of Bangladesh.
