Calang: The bodies of three Rohingya refugees were found in the sea as the Indonesian authorities ended a search for survivors from a boat that capsized near Aceh province, the provincial search and rescue agency said Sunday.
Fishers and a search and rescue team rescued 75 people from the boat on Thursday — 44 men, 22 women and nine children — after they huddled on its overturned hull throughout the night.
A few were taken to a local hospital for treatment, but most were sent to a temporary shelter in the Aceh Barat district. Several told UNHCR workers they had lost family members on the journey.
Fishers first spotted the three bodies and reported them to local authorities on Saturday.
Indonesian rescuers called off the search for any remaining Rohingya refugees on Friday despite reports from some of the survivors that dozens of people were swept away on Wednesday when their boat and another trying to help them capsized. More than half a dozen bodies were spotted by fishermen on Saturday, but only two bodies were retrieved, authorities said.
“After we searched the area, the team found three bodies, two adult women and one boy. They are allegedly Rohingya refugees who were the passengers of the capsized and sunken boat,” Al Hussain, chief of Banda Aceh Search and Rescue Agency in a statement on Sunday.
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