Boats carrying fleeing Rohingya Muslims capsize

By Washington Examiner
Published May 14, 2013 4:00am ET
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Boats carrying fleeing Rohingya Muslims capsize
Internally displaced Rohingya boys shiver in rain in a makeshift camp for Rohingya people in Sittwe, northwestern Rakhine State, Myanmar, ahead of the arrival of Cyclone Mahasen, Tuesday, May 14, 2013. The U.N. said the cyclone, expected later this week, could swamp makeshift housing camps sheltering tens of thousands of Rohingya. Myanmar state television reported Monday that 5,158 people were relocated from low-lying camps in Rakhine state to safer shelters. But far more people are considered vulnerable. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) | Gemunu Amarasinghe

SITTWE, Myanmar (AP) — An overcrowded boat capsized while trying to escape a cyclone bearing down on Myanmar, tossing dozens of Rohingya Muslims into the sea. Eight bodies were found and more than 50 people were missing and feared dead, the United Nations said Tuesday.

More than 100 Rohingya were aboard the boat when it set sail late Monday night, said James Munn, an official with the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

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