Fourteen Rohingya women and children fled from their shelter in the southernmost province of Narathiwat on Wednesday morning, believed to be intent on joining relatives who have settled in Malaysia.
An official at the Narathiwat Shelter for Children and Families repairs the barbed wire after 21 Rohinya cut a way out through it. (Photo by Waedao Harai)
The escapees, illegal migrants, had earlier asked a member of the shelter staff to help an old Rohingya woman to the toilet, distracting attention so that they could sneak out of the compound and flee into the forest behind the shelter, Mr Mohamassaki said. Their departure through the wire had been filmed by surveillance cameras.
He said the 21 Rohingya migrants had said before being sent to the Narathiwat shelter that they wanted to go to Malaysia to join relatives who illegally entered and settled there.
Shelter staff and local police searched unsuccessfully for the escapees. Their photos were sent to immigration police in Tak Bai, Sungai Kolok and Waeng districts, who were asked to watch out for them.