NEW DELHI, 26 February, 2021 (TON): On Friday, the Indian foreign ministry said that India's coast guard found 81 survivors and eight dead on a boat crammed with Rohingya refugees adrift in the Andaman Sea.

The ministry added that the survivors would not be allowed to enter the Indian Territory.

Reports state that another refugee is missing, meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency had raised the alarm earlier this week over the missing boat, which had set off on 11 February from Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, where refugee camps have been established for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled neighboring Myanmar.

After four days at sea the boat's engine failed, and the Rohingya had run out of food and water and many were ill and suffering from extreme dehydration by the time they were rescued, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.

Two Indian coast guard ships were sent to help the refugees, 23 of whom were children, and the Indian government is in discussions with Bangladesh to ensure their safe return, he said.

It is known already that hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after a deadly crackdown by security forces in Myanmar in 2017, however, on Monday, the Bangladesh authorities state to be unaware of any boats leaving the camps.