Bangladeshi migrants locked in house in Thailand rescued after 3 days

Thai authorities have rescued 16 Bangladeshis, who were found locked inside a rented house in Hat Yai of southern Songkhla province for three days without food or water while awaiting illegal transport to Malaysia, reported Bangkok Post on Wednesday.

Based on a tip-off that the house, in an alley near the Thong Nimit gold shop on Kanchanawanit Road in tambon Phatong, was being used to shelter illegal migrants, a rescue operation was held.

Local residents reported hearing cries and moans coming from inside, it reported.

The Daily Star could not reach the Bangladesh embassy for comments on Wednesday night.

Bangkok Post reported that Thai Border Patrol Police and Immigration officers, Thung Lung police and Internal Security Operations Command officials took part in the operation.

They found the front door of the room securely locked and so had to enter through the rear. Inside, the officers discovered 16 men sitting in a small room in a severely weakened state.

Those men then pleaded for food, telling authorities that they had been deprived of food and water for three days.

Police then took them to the Thung Lung police station and immediately provided them with food and drinking water.

During questioning through an interpreter, the migrants told police they had travelled by boat from Bangladesh and landed in Phuket. Each had paid a broker the equivalent of 96,000 baht (Tk 3.6 lakh) each for the journey.

Police said they were reportedly marked with red strings tied around their wrists before being transported by pickup truck from Phuket to Songkhla. Their intended destination was Malaysia, where they hoped to find work.

Police Sub-Lt Sommart Kerdsaengsuriyong, head of intelligence operations at the 43rd Border Patrol Police unit, said authorities acted after receiving complaints from residents about cries for help.

“When we opened the door, it was heartbreaking. They are human beings like us, and they had gone without food and water for at least three days,” he said.

The rescued migrants have now been placed into the legal process, with further action to be taken in accordance with the law, said Pol Sub Lt Sommart.