Malaysia finds 139 grave sites, camps used by people-smugglers

Malaysian police say they found 139 grave sites and 28 abandoned detention camps used by people-smugglers and capable of housing hundreds, laying bare the grim extent of the region’s migrant crisis.

Thailand, meanwhile, deploys a helicopter carrier to serve as a temporary medical and processing center as the United States offers to launch flights to locate vessels carrying migrants but abandoned by smugglers, with rights groups warning that thousands of boat people may still be at sea.

Malaysia’s national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar announces the discovery of the grave sites and camps, but says it remains unclear how many bodies were buried in the inaccessible area of mountainous jungle along the Thai border.

The findings appear to indicate a system of camps and graves larger than those discovered by Thai police in early May, a finding which ignited regional concern about human smuggling and trafficking.

— AFP