Boat sinks off Myanmar’s coast

Buddhist monks and pedestrians walk across a road in downtown Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, May 13, 2013. Myanmar's government warned Saturday that a new cyclone barreling north into the Bay of Bengal could threaten the country's western coast next week, raising fears the storm could swamp low-lying camps housing tens of thousands of embattled Rohingya Muslims who fled sectarian violence last year. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)

Buddhist monks and pedestrians walk across a road in downtown Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, May 13, 2013. Myanmar's government warned Saturday that a new cyclone barreling north into the Bay of Bengal could threaten the country's western coast next week, raising fears the storm could swamp low-lying camps housing tens of thousands of embattled Rohingya Muslims who fled sectarian violence last year. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)

Published May 14, 2013

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Yangon -

A boat carrying up to 150 Rohingya Muslims fleeing a cyclone has capsized off Myanmar's coast, the United Nations said on Tuesday, as the storm threatened to strike flood-prone Rakhine State in the coming days.

The boat went missing on Monday night after it left the Pauktaw township, according to a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Thousands of people displaced by communal violence last year are housed in makeshift camps in the area. - Sapa-AFP

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