UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- In the face of mounting congestion and disease fears in makeshift camps in Bangladesh, more Rohingya refugees poured in with four being killed in a Bay of Bengal shipwreck and 20 people injured, the UN said on Tuesday.
"The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is deeply saddened by reports of a shipwreck in the Bay of Bengal," said Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief spokesman. "At least four Rohingya refugees died when their boat capsized near the southern Bangladesh shore."
"UNHCR and partners rushed to the scene to provide medical support, food, blankets and clothes to the survivors, who said that six families had fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine State before running into rough seas," he told reporters here at UN headquarters.
"More than 20 injured people were rushed to hospitals and the others were taken to UNHCR's transit center near Kutupalong camp where they will receive further assistance and support," Dujarric said.
Kutupalong is the main refugee camp near the border town of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Dujarric said Monday that more than 607,000 Rohingyas had fled Myanmar since Aug. 25 when alleged deadly attacks by a rebel Rohingya militia on police posts triggered retribution by Myanmar government forces and vigilante mobs against Rohingyas and their villages.
"The UN Migration Agency (IOM) is worried about how the congestion and overcrowding in the makeshift settlements Rohingya refugees are living in at Cox's Bazar could lead to dangerous sanitary situations," the spokesman said.
