The Malaysian coast guard said it intercepted a boat carrying 202 people believed to be ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar early Sunday morning.

The group, comprising 152 men, 45 women and five children, were handed over to immigration authorities for processing as they entered the country illegally, Capt. Zulinda Ramly, deputy director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, said in a statement.

The boat was found adrift off the shore of the resort island of Langkawi, according to the statement, adding that the authorities are looking for the skipper and two crew suspected to be from a human smuggling syndicate. According to the Rohingya, the men fled while they were at sea.

(Photo taken Aug. 21, 2019, shows a refugee camp for Rohingya in Cox's Bazar, a Bangladeshi city bordering Myanmar.)

Facing persecution in their homeland in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, who are predominantly Muslim, have sought refuge in neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia.

The government of traditionally Buddhist Myanmar considers them to be immigrants from Bangladesh and does not recognize them as citizens, despite their generations-long presence in the country.

Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, has long taken up the cause of the Rohingya. However, Malaysia itself has drawn criticism for its treatment of Rohingya in the country, such as not allowing them to work legally.

According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, as of the end of February 2020, there were 101,010 registered Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers living in Malaysia.

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