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At least 14 people drowned early Tuesday and 70 people were rescued when a boat carrying Rohingya refugees sank off southern Bangladesh, officials said.

"So far we have recovered 14 bodies and 70 people alive," coast guard commander Naim ul Haq told AFP, adding that navy and coast guard boats were still searching near St Martin's island in the Bay of Bengal.

Many of the 700,000-plus Rohingya who fled a military crackdown

in Myanmar in 2017 have tried to leave refugee camps in Bangladesh on boats headed for Malaysia.