Malaysia has concluded a nine-day search and rescue (SAR) operation after a boat carrying Rohingya migrants capsized near the Malaysia-Thailand maritime border, authorities confirmed Monday (October 17). The operation resulted in the recovery of 29 bodies, while 14 people were found alive.

The operation, which began on Nov. 9 for the boat that overturned on Nov. 6, was officially called off at 6:30 p.m. local time (1030GMT) on Monday. Malaysia’s state-run news agency, Bernama, reported that authorities had scoured 1,745.88 nautical square miles of sea. According to Anadolu Ajansı, the rescue effort ended after a final assessment yielded no new leads.

Zainudin Mohd Zuki, deputy operations director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in Kedah and Perlis, stated that a total of 43 victims had been found as of noon Monday. The deceased included 15 men, nine women, two boys, and three girls. The 14 survivors were comprised of 12 men and two women.

More than 300 personnel were involved in the SAR operation. Zainudin noted that the search could be reactivated if any new information about the remaining missing persons emerges. The capsized boat was reportedly one of three smaller vessels carrying migrants transferred from a larger ship that had departed Myanmar with approximately 300 people. The status of the other two boats remains unknown.

The incident highlights the ongoing perilous journeys undertaken by the Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim minority group fleeing widespread abuse, discrimination, and statelessness in Myanmar. A violent military crackdown in 2017 forced hundreds of thousands to flee, with over 1.3 million now seeking refuge in neighboring Bangladesh. Many continue to attempt dangerous sea crossings to reach countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, a crisis exacerbated by the civil war that has engulfed Myanmar since the 2021 military coup.

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