Eight Rohingya migrants killed in Bangladesh boat capsize (Lead)

Dhaka Oct 16 (IANS) A boat carrying Rohingya migrants capsized off the coast of Bangladesh leaving eight dead and over 40 missing a police official said on Monday.

"Bodies of four women and four children were recovered this morning. The exact time of the capsize is yet to be ascertained " the official told Xinhua news agency.

A bodies were recovered in the Bay of Bengal near Shah Porir Island in the Cox s Bazar district some 292 km southeast of Dhaka.

"We have come to know that some 40 Rohingya still remained missing after the boat packed with some 70 migrants capsized " the official added.

According to survivors some 20 passengers managed to swim ashore.

Last week 28 bodies were recovered after a boat with Rohingya migrants on board capsized at the mouth of the Naf river that divides Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Bodies of 132 Rohingyas and a Bangladeshi boat man were recovered from the Naf River in at least 25 boat incidents since August 29.

Over half a million Rohingya people have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar s Rakhine state amid a fresh wave of violence in the region since August 25.

--IANS
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