17 Rohingya, including children, drown fleeing Myanmar

Cox's Bazar : Bangladesh coastguards on Thursday found the bodies of 17 Rohingya, many of them children, who drowned when their boats capsized as they fled violence in Myanmar that has forced at least 18,500 to seek refuge across the border.

Officials in Bangladesh say growing numbers of Rohingya are trying to cross the Naf river that divides the two countries in rickety boats that are ill-equipped for the rough waters as they become increasingly desperate to escape.

The International Organization for Migration said Wednesday that at least 18,500 Rohingya had crossed into Bangladesh since fighting erupted in Myanmar's neighbouring Rakhine State six days earlier.

One coastguard official who asked not to be named said the migrants were travelling on "rickety inland fishing boats" unsuitable for the choppy seas around Bangladesh.

On Wednesday, the bodies of two Rohingya women and two children washed up in Bangladesh after their boat capsized.

Officials said two more boats capsized on Thursday, killing at least 17 people, many of them children.

Photographs from the scene showed the bodies of several small children lined up on the ground, covered with sheets.

One survivor told AFP the small, overcrowded boat he was travelling on had been tipped over by huge waves near where the Naf river opens out into the sea.

"Nobody knew how to navigate the sea waters. When huge waves tilted the boat, we panicked," said Shah Karim.