A boat packed with migrants is attached to a Myanmar navy vessel off Leik Island in the Andaman Sea May 31, 2015. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar said a boat crammed with 727 migrants that it has kept stranded at sea for days was now being escorted to a "safe" area for identity checks and the United States said it believed those aboard would be allowed ashore in Myanmar this week.
"The operation is starting. They will be taken to a safe destination," Myanmar Information Minister Ye Htut told Reuters by telephone, adding that the migrants had been provided with food and water. He would not disclose that location due to "security and safety concerns".
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