At least seven people have died and dozens remain missing after a boat carrying hundreds of Rohingya refugees sank in the Andaman Sea, near the border between Thailand and Malaysia, according to Malaysian maritime authorities on Sunday. 

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) confirmed that 13 people had been rescued alive — three more than in the previous update — but warned that the death toll is likely to rise.

The victims were immigrants who had departed four days earlier from the Burmese town of Buthidaung, attempting to reach the Malaysian coast in search of refuge. 

Authorities said that during the journey, passengers abandoned the main vessel and divided into three smaller boats. The boat was carrying around 300 people.

One of them capsized off the Malaysian coast with about 90 people on board, while the other two remain missing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing but have been hampered by poor weather conditions. 

“If the number is accurate, we must take this very seriously. Even if it happened near the border of a neighboring country, we still have the responsibility to search for and rescue the victims,” said Kedah state police chief Adzli Abu Shah, as quoted by The Straits Times. 

The tragedy once again highlights the perilous journeys faced by thousands of Rohingyas — a Muslim minority persecuted in Myanmar — who risk their lives every year trying to reach Southeast Asian shores in search of asylum and better living conditions.