Old rescue photo falsely linked to deadly shipwreck off Thai-Malaysian coast
- Published on November 14, 2025 at 08:31
- 2 min read
- By Najmi Mamat, AFP Malaysia
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At least 32 people died after a boat carrying undocumented migrants capsized near the Thai-Malaysian coast in November 2025. While rescuers pulled 14 others to safety, social media posts giving updates to the situation shared an old photo showing migrants being rescued in the Mediterranean Sea in 2021.
"At least 11 Rohingya nationals have been confirmed dead after a boat carrying about 70 passengers capsized near the Malaysia-Thailand border earlier this morning," reads part of a Malay-language Facebook post shared on November 10, 2025.
It shares an image showing several people wearing life vests clinging to an orange rubber boat. Two other crafts filled with more people in life vests can be seen in the background. Text on the picture repeats the post's content.
The posts surfaced after a boat carrying some 70 undocumented migrants capsized near Thailand's Tarutao Island on November 6. Officials say they were likely part of a larger group of some 300 people leaving from Myanmar, and were split between at least two vessels.
The death toll from the shipwreck rose to 32 after Malaysian rescuers recovered five more bodies on November 12 around the island resort of Langkawi (archived link).
The survivors, mainly Rohingya and Bangladeshi citizens, have all been found in Malaysian waters.
The Rohingya have been persecuted in Myanmar for decades and thousands risk their lives every year to flee repression and civil war, often aboard makeshift boats.
The same picture was shared in posts on Instagram, TikTok and X giving updates on the rescue operation, but it in fact does not show the migrants being rescued by Malaysian authorities.
Old picture
A Google reverse image search led to an article published by the Associated Press (AP) on October 17, 2025 which uses the same image (archived link).
Its caption says it shows migrants who fell into the water being rescued by humanitarian rescuers around 35 miles (56 kilometres) away from Libya in the Mediterranean Sea on October 18, 2021.
Photo agency Hans Lucas also published a picture distributed by AFP on the day showing the same scene.
According to the United Nations, over 25,000 people have lost their lives trying to cross from North Africa to Europe since 2014, making it the deadliest migration route in the world (archived link).
Photos taken by AFP of a survivor from the 2025 shipwreck also do not match the image used in the false post.
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