KUALA LUMPUR (DPA) — Malaysian police Thursday denied reports of a boat carrying hundreds of Rohingyas from Myanmar and Bangladeshis said to have been turned away from its coast.
"There is no truth to reports that another boat full of suspected illegal migrants was seen off our shores," a senior police official told dpa on condition of anonymity.
A Malaysian official marks an Rohinghya migrant in Kuah, on Langkawi island, May 2015, EPA/STR
Media reports earlier said a boat with more than 500 migrants had been turned away by Malaysian authorities off the coast of northern Penang state late Wednesday.
A maritime surveillance official told dpa they were still working to confirm reports of a migrant boat seen heading to Penang.
"I do not have knowledge of the report that we have turned away boat people," he added.
Earlier in the week more than 1,000 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh were found to have landed on the nearby island of Langkawi.
Related coverage:
8,000 Refugees Reportedly Adrift in South-East Asia
Thai Government Mulls Opening Refugee Camps for Rohingyas
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