Migrant worker escapes from Thai trawler
A migrant worker from Myanmar has escaped from a Thai trawler where he was forced to work more than 20 hours per day, according to the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN), based in Thailand.
The escapee visited the MWRN office in Thailand to ask for help on April 26. He and his son were sold as slave labourers to work on the trawler last October.
They went to Thailand by a broker from their village, who sold them for 20,000 baht.
The worker said he left his son on the trawler to ask for help from the MWRN. He said they were forced to work up to 23 hours per day on the trawler for the last four months.
"We're now gathering information about the case. He can't disclose the location or the boat's name. As he's new to the place, he doesn’t know these facts. He could only say it's a jetty. His son is still on the trawler. We will investigate and work together with the anti-human trafficking taskforce to rescue him," said Sein Htay, a director for MWRN.
Over 1 million of Myanmar nationals are reportedly working in Thailand. Most of them are in Samut Sakhon, south of Bangkok.
Late Monday, at least nine Myanmar migrants working in Thailand's seafood industry were killed and a further 17 injured when their pick-up truck hit a barrier and overturned, police said Tuesday.
Police said 26 workers were crammed into the vehicle after their shift when the accident happened late Monday in the coastal province of Samut Sakhon, 45 kilometres (28 miles) from Bangkok.
"It should not have happened... the pick-up truck had just left the factory and was not travelling far to its destination," Chaiyuth Thomya of Samut Sakhon's Muang district police told AFP, putting the death toll at nine.
Thailand's roads are among the world's deadliest, with accidents involving buses and trucks packed with migrant workers particularly common.
Samut Sakhon is home to tens of thousands of migrants, many from neighbouring Myanmar, who work in Thailand's embattled fishing and seafood trade.
Rights groups also accuse Thai authorities of failing to protect migrant labourers in the notoriously unregulated fishing industry, which is blighted by accusations of slave labour, low pay and poor conditions.
