300 migrants missing off Andamans
INDIA: The Indian Coast Guard said Monday it was searching for around
300 illegal migrants reported missing after abandoning their vessel near
a remote island chain in the Bay of Bengal.
Coastguard officials said 100 people rescued from the drifting vessel
had told them that 300 others had jumped into the water to try to swim
to shore. The migrants were from Bangladesh and Myanmar and were trying
to get to Thailand, said Kripa Nautiyal, deputy inspector general of the
coast guard for the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
"The boat was sailing for over two weeks and it was running short of
food and drinking water for a couple of days," Nautiyal said.
Kolkata, Monday, AFP
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