The 2020 death of a large cargo vessel in Indonesia left by a Muslim refugee camp in the Bay of Bengal: a UN investigation

A large boat carrying almost 300 people was lost at sea for six months in March 2020. It was turned away by a number of countries before being accepted by Indonesia. The number of people who had died by that time was at least 30. Many surviving women said they were assaulted on board the vessel.

CNN cannot independently verify whether any deaths have occurred on the boat. There are unconfirmed reports that at least 20 people may have already died during this terrifying situation, a UN spokesman said.

The boat lost its engine late in November and has been adrift ever since in the Bay of Bengal.

It is thought to have left Bangladesh where 1 million Muslim refugees live in refugee camps after fleeing persecution in their native nation.

The stranded boat of a Rohingya refugee in Aceh, Indonesia, was rescued by the UNHCR on Monday

“Quick action is needed to save lives and avoid further deaths,” Baloch said. Our warning of the consequences of state failure to save lives has not been lost on us.

A group of Southeast Asian lawmakers has also urged neighboring countries to “urgently rescue” the boat, according to a statement from ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.

Many refugees flee the overcrowded refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh where women are at risk of sexual assault and violence.

The camps have swelled over the past five years as hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled a brutal campaign of killing and arson by the Myanmar military in western Rakhine state.

There are dangers to life at the camps. Fires are frequent and have destroyed hundreds of homes, while floods during the monsoon season often wipe out the poorly built huts.

Khan said his sister was in search of a better life for her daughter, and decided to attempt the dangerous sea journey out of Bangladesh on November 25.

Many on the stranded boat are drinking rain water when they can, Khan said, adding some are growing so desperate, they are drinking water from the ocean.

The older of the Uddin brothers was hoping to find a job, and earn enough money to help his parents with their medical bills.

Although everyone is bound by international law to rescue people in distress at sea, swift actions are not always forthcoming.

Then on Monday, 185 people – including many women and children – were rescued in Aceh, Indonesia, according to Babar Baloch, an Asia spokesperson for the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR).

Video shared with CNN by relatives of passengers show dozens of of people collapsing from exhaustion on a beach in the Southeast Asian country. Many can be seen crying as they cling to each other. Young children and women are wearing clothes soaked in water and mud. The faces of the people are pale, gaunt and without food or water for weeks.

On Monday, the rescued survivors of a malaria-like family boat arrive at Aceh, Nigeria, and return to their home in the first day

Among the passengers was a young mother seeking a better future for her 5-year-old daughter, and a 17-year-old boy hoping to earn enough money to buy medicines for his ailing parents.

More than 50 people were thought to be from the boat when they were probably rescued by fishermen on Sunday. On Monday, the remaining surviving passengers arrived on shore, he added.

“Most of their conditions are unwell,” the head of the disaster management agency in Aceh’s Pidie regency , Muhammad Misbahul, told Reuters, adding paramedics from three local clinics were taking care of them.

The second boat also started its journey in late November, and began to break apart in early December, UNHCR said in a statement, citing unconfirmed reports.

If reports of the 180 feared dead are confirmed, it would make this year one of the deadliest for the persecuted group seeking refuge in a third country, Baloch said.