LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA ¨C The death toll from the sinking of a boat carrying members of Myanmar¡¯s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority climbed to 27 on Tuesday, as a survivor recalled a harrowing journey that left him floating for days in the Andaman Sea.
¡°I saw one person die. They drowned,¡± Iman Sharif told reporters shortly after he was rescued on Tuesday and taken into custody by Malaysian authorities.
Iman said he was aboard a large boat for eight days before being transferred to a smaller one with around 70 people. But the vessel sank shortly after, and he clung on to wreckage for days before washing up on a Malaysian island.
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