Ten drown as boat sinks off Bangladesh, 12,000 more arrive

At least 10 people drowned and dozens more are missing after a boat packed with Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh sank on Monday, as another 12,000 people joined a half-million-strong exodus sparked by an army crackdown in Myanmar.

The boat was carrying an estimated 50 people when it went down in the estuary of the Naf river that divides the two countries, Border Guard Bangladesh area commander Lieutenant Colonel S.M. Ariful Islam told AFP.

Nearly 200 Rohingya are known to have have drowned over the last six weeks making the perilous crossing to Bangladesh, many in small wooden fishing boats that are dangerously overloaded.

Islam said 21 survivors had swum to safety after the small fishing trawler overturned, and coast and border guards were conducting a search and rescue operation in the Naf river.

Sheikh Ashrafuzzaman, a senior police officer, said authorities had recovered the bodies of six children and four women.

"The accident happened during early morning prayers," said Shams Uddin, a local resident who saw the tragedy. "I think the boat overturned as the boatmen tried to reach the shore against the returning currents."

The UN said over the weekend that 537,000 Rohingya had arrived in Bangladesh over the last seven weeks. They are fleeing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where the United Nations has accused troops of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against them.

Another 12,000 have entered in the last 24 hours, local border guard spokesman Major Iqbal Ahmed said.

"We are keeping them near the border and they will be eventually be taken to the new camps," he told AFP.

Bangladesh has allocated 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) of forest land to create the world's largest refugee camp for the new arrivals as well as those already in the country.

Many of the new arrivals have already occupied the land and built their own makeshift shelters.

The stateless Muslim minority has faced decades of persecution in mainly Buddhist Myanmar.

The latest influx began in late August after attacks by Rohingya militants on police posts in Myanmar.

The latest accident came a week after another boat packed with Rohingya refugees capsized in the area, killing at least 34 people including many children.

One border guard told AFP the boat was just 200 yards from the Bangladesh coast when it sank in rough waters.

Fazlul Haq, a local official, said the boat was owned by a Bangladeshi villager who had made large sums of money ferrying Rohingya into the country.

He said the small fishing trawlers were highly vulnerable to accidents as they approached the shore, where they are often buffeted by large waves.

Refugees are often charged exorbitant fees for the trip.

Dhaka has made clear it wants the Rohingya to return to Myanmar, where many of their villages have been burned to the ground.

On Friday former UN chief Kofi Annan urged the Security Council to push for their return, saying world powers must work with Myanmar's military and civilian leaders to end the refugee crisis.