Members of the persecuted minority risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys, often crowding into rickety boats in the hopes of reaching Malaysia or Indonesia. The refugees were abandoned before dawn on Thursday around 100 metres off a beach in Aceh Province, Saiful Anwar, a village official in East Aceh, told AFP. The group included 46 women, 37 men and seven children, he said, while locals found two bodies on the shore and four floating in the sea.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said it knew about the arrivals but could offer no further information. Acting Aceh Governor Safrizal, who goes by one name, told reporters “human trafficking mafia activity” was to blame for the latest arrivals.

Every year, thousands of Rohingya attempt the perilous 4,000-kilometre journey (2,500 miles) from Bangladesh to Malaysia, fuelling a multi-million dollar human-smuggling operation that often involves stopovers in Indonesia.

Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention and says it cannot be compelled to take in the refugees, calling instead on neighbouring countries to share the burden.