More than 150 Rohingya rescued off Thai coast

YANGON: More than 150 Rohingya people have been rescued from a waterlogged boat near the Thai coast, Myanmar´s military said on Thursday.

Thousands of the mostly Muslim Rohingya, heavily persecuted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, risk their lives each year in long, expensive sea journeys, often in vessels in poor condition, trying to reach Malaysia or Indonesia.

In the latest incident, the boat carrying 48 women and 106 men was spotted by an offshore oil rig around 240-km southeast of Myeik town, the junta said.

The rig -- jointly run by the state Myanmar Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and a private partner -- dispatched two rescue boats at around 8:00 pm on Wednesday, the statement added. It is unclear when or exactly from where the vessel carrying the 154 people departed.