Thai official warns of ‘alarming level’ of boat people

BANGKOK — A senior Thai official says the influx of boat people migrants in Southeast Asia has reached an “alarming level” and is calling for governments to address the root causes of the crisis.

Foreign Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn spoke at the opening of a regional meeting aimed at tackling the growing problem of human trafficking in Southeast Asia that began in Bangkok on Friday.

Senior officials from across Asia are struggling to tackle the growing problem of desperate people landing on the shores of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, as Rohingya Muslims flee persecution in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar.

Poor Bangladeshis crowd onto boats in the hope of finding jobs in other countries.

In the past month, more than 3,000 of them have landed in the three countries amid a regional crackdown.