KYAUKTAN, Myanmar (Reuters) – Myanmar immigration authorities detained 106 Rohingya Muslims aboard a boat off Yangon on Friday, officials said, raising fears of a fresh wave of dangerous voyages after a 2015 crackdown on people smugglers.

A stranded boat which was used by Rohingya Muslims is seen at the Thande village beach outside Yangon, Myanmar November 16, 2018. REUTERS/Myat Thu Kyaw

The boat was bound for Malaysia when authorities stopped it in the early morning some 30 km (20 miles) south of Myanmar’s largest city, Kyaw Htay, an immigration officer from Kyauktan township, told Reuters by phone.

The group boarded the vessel from internal displacement camps outside Sittwe, the capital of western Rakhine state, he said.

“Their destination was Malaysia. The boat was stopped after the engine failed,” he said.

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