Chaideer Mahyuddin, AFP | A group of rescued mostly Rohingya migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh sleep in Aceh province on May 12, 2015 after Indonesian rescuers found their boat stranded.
Four Indonesian navy vessels offered the assistance to the passengers on the migrant boat near the cape of Tanjung Jambu Aye in north Aceh.
“The passengers were still alive and in good condition,” said Navy spokesman Manahan Simorangkir. “They were seeking help and they didn’t want to go to Indonesia. They wanted to go to Malaysia, so we sent them on their way after providing them with food, water and medical supplies.”
More than a thousand Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugees have arrived in Malaysia and Indonesia following a crackdown on trafficking by Thailand, which is usually the first destination in the region’s people smuggling network.
