NEW YORK, 22 February, 2021 (TON): On Monday, the UNHCR called on for immediate rescue of the group of Rohingya refugees afloat in the boat in the Andaman Sea.

The refugees were without food and water and, many were ill and suffered dehydration.

The agency said some passengers had died, with fatalities rising over the weekend on a boat it said had left the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh about 10 days ago and had experienced engine failure.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement, “In the absence of precise information as to the refugees’ location, we have alerted the authorities of the relevant maritime states of these reports and appealed for their swift assistance.”

The Rohingya,  a Muslim minority has suffered persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and many have fled in rickety boats, encountering often perilous journeys in the hope of reaching Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Immediate action is needed to save lives and prevent further tragedy,” it said, offering to support governments by providing humanitarian help and quarantine measures to those rescued.

The boat has been tracked to an area of the Andaman and Nicobar islands and was reported safe, but the condition of those aboard was not known, a senior Indian coast guard official told the media.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled a deadly crackdown by Myanmar’s security forces in 2017 and poured into neighboring Bangladesh, where about a million live in dire conditions in sprawling refugee camps, unable to work or leave without government permission.