Myanmar to send back 126 more 'boat people' to Bangladesh

Myanmar authorities are making arrangements to send back 126 more "boat people" who are verified as Bangladeshi nationals, to their country of origin by next Tuesday, an official report said Friday.

The Bangladeshi nationals out of the remaining 228 awaiting for repatriation are temporarily sheltered at Taung Pyo (Letwe) camp in Rakhine state.

The Myanmar navy rescued over 200 "boat people" in Rakhine state's Maungtaw and over 700 in Ayeyawaddy region's Pyapon in May when patrolling in Myanmar waters.

The Myanmar authorities had sent back a total of 501 Bangladeshi "boat people" on four different occasions since June after citizenship verification.

Investigations by the Myanmar government have found that some of the "boat people" had fallen victim to human trafficking rings and crime syndicates after receiving work offers in Thailand and Malaysia from illegal job brokers.