Indonesian fishermen rescue 76 Rohingya stranded off the coast of Aceh

20 Apr, 2018 13:27 / Updated 6 years ago

Indonesian fishermen rescued 76 Rohingya Muslims stranded off the coast of Aceh on Friday, in the latest attempt by members of the persecuted ethnic group to flee Myanmar by sea, Reuters said. The group of eight children, 25 women and 43 men was brought ashore in their wooden boat Friday afternoon, said the police chief of Bireuen regency in Aceh on the island of Sumatra, Riza Yulianto. It was unclear how long they had been at sea. Aceh’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said the Rohingya told local authorities that they wanted to reach Australia. The agency was coordinating with the local government to provide temporary shelter.