[BenarNews] About 185 gaunt and bone-tired Rohingya refugees landed on the coast of Pidie regency in Indonesia’s Aceh province Monday, police said, as reports emerged that another boatload of Rohingya may have sunk at sea.
Two NGOs confirmed to BenarNews that the new arrivals were from a boat that was at sea for about a month and stranded as food and water supplies dwindled. As many as 20 of the passengers perished, NGO sources said, while the refugees journeyed south across the Andaman Sea as they fled refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Citing information from refugees, a fisherman in Pidie said they told him that more than two dozen people had died and others threw their bodies overboard.
"The group consists of 83 adult males, 70 adult women and 32 children," Aceh provincial police front man Winardy said, adding that sick refugees were receiving medical treatment.
He declined to give more details.
The boat was the second one carrying Rohingya to land in Aceh — Indonesia’s westernmost province — in as many days. On Christmas Day, 57 Rohingya males arrived in Aceh Besar regency aboard a wooden boat. Thirteen of them were minors, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
A video shared by a local resident showed Monday’s 185 Rohingya newcomers, including women and kiddies, crumpled on the beach, visibly weak, exhausted and emaciated. In the distressing footage, some in the crowd could be heard wailing.
"The refugees were stranded because of very high waves due to the East Wind season," said Marfian, a leader of the local fishing community. "According to their information, 30 people died and their bodies were thrown into the sea. We don't know how long they were at sea, and we received information that they were on the open sea a month ago. 
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