The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Three Bangladeshi nationals and 17 Myanmar citizens died of starvation or dehydration when their wooden boat drifted in Sri Lankan seas for 12 days.

Quoting a navy spokesman Bloomberg said fishermen reported the boat, with 71 survivors on board, about 280 kilometers northeast of Sri Lanka Sunday.

Navy spokesman D.K.P. Dassanayake said according to the survivors they ran out of food and water. They have thrown the bodies overboard. The navy has not recovered any bodies. The boat was towed to the northeastern port of Trincomalee where authorities decided the people were "illegal foreign job seekers," the navy said in a statement.

The vessel left Cox's Bazaar near the border between Myanmar and Bangladeshi on Feb. 9. There were 67 people from Myanmar and 24 from Bangladesh on board.

"They were heading for Thailand and Malaysia for lucrative employment," the navy said. The boat's engine failed on Feb. 20 and it began to drift.

Sri Lanka has provided food and medicines to the survivors, according to the statement.