Three Myanmar fishermen suffocated in the fishing boat they were on in southern Thailand’s Pattani, on 31 March, according to the Migrant Workers Rights Network.

After fishing at sea for about 10 days the three Myanmar fishermen died due to a lack of oxygen.

“The liquid from the rotten fish in the boat storage was not extracted properly. They did not have any ice and salt for the fish, so the smell of the rotten fish was too strong. The three fishermen died from suffocation due to a shortage of oxygen and an inadequate fan cooling system”, an expert from Myeik Township said.

The three fishermen are Maung San Hla (Ngepyatchay), Nyi Nyi, and Kyaw Win Maung from Laynyin Taung village in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State. They were cremated at the WatlanNote Monastery in Pattani on 3 and 4 April.

The fishermen’s families have been told that they are entitled to 1,080,000 baht compensation for each death from the Thai Social Security Department.

To receive the compensation the families will have to contact the Migrant Workers Rights Network and ask them to help, according to the source.