AFP / Reza Juanda | Migrants, at least some of whom are thought to be Rohingyas from Myanmar, wait at a shelter in Matang Raya village, Baktya, in northern Aceh on May 10, 2015 after being rescued at sea

The overcrowded boats, which were carrying nearly 100 women and dozens of children among the refugees, were towed to shore by fishermen after running out of fuel.

"According to the information we have so far, the people on board are from Myanmar. They are Muslim, from the  community,” said Mohammed Arif Mutaqin, spokesman for the Aceh Search and Rescue Agency.

The migrants left Thailand about seven days ago and some died during the journey, authorities said.

Of those rescued, around 50 were taken to the hospital. “In general, they were suffering from starvation and many were very thin,” said North Aceh police chief Achmadi.

An estimated 25,000 Rohingyas and Bangladeshis boarded people-smugglers’ boats in the first three months of this year, twice as many in the same period of 2014, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.

An agency official estimated that around 300 people had died at sea in the first quarter of this year as a result of starvation, dehydration and abuse by boat crews.