OFF
LEIK ISLAND, Myanmar (REUTERS) - Myanmar's navy briefly detained and turned
back journalists on Sunday near a migrant boat being held off the country's
southern coast, according to Reuters witnesses, as officials remained guarded
over what would be done with the people on board.
Before
being turned away, Reuters reporters saw hundreds of migrants - some rake thin
- crammed on the deck of the converted Thai fishing boat that had been
intercepted in the Andaman Sea on Friday and held in the waters off Leik
island.
Some
were sat on two of the four Myanmar navy vessels standing off the fishing boat,
which had been discovered carrying 727 migrants.
A
naval officer, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak
to the media, said the boat had been found drifting at sea with no fuel or
anchor, and was taking on water. "Their water pump was broken. If we
hadn't found them, they may have died," the officer said.
*A
handout picture released by the Myanmar Ministry of Information on May 30, 2015
shows migrants who were seized by the Myanmar navy in a boat near the Irrawaddy
delta in Myanmar, on May 29, 2015. Myanmar's navy briefly detained and
turned back journalists on Sunday, May 31, near a migrant boat being held off
the country's southern coast, according to Reuters witnesses. -- PHOTO: EPA
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