Boat crammed with Rohingya refugees, including women and children, sent back to sea in Indonesia

About 250 Rohingya refugees crammed onto a wooden boat have been turned away from western Indonesia and sent back to sea, residents said Friday.

The group from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off the coast of Aceh province on Thursday but locals told them not to land. Some refugees swam ashore and collapsed on the beach before being pushed back onto their overcrowded boat.

After being turned away, the decrepit boat traveled dozens of miles farther east to North Aceh. But locals again sent them back to sea late Thursday.