Seventy four asylum seekers found off the coast of Thailand on Tuesday are to be sent back to Myanmar.

Local media said the group were Rohingya Muslims escaping sectarian violence in the country's restive Rakhine state.

The boat, consisting of 60 men and boys and 14 women and girls, reportedly got lost on the way to Malaysia, its intended destination.

Thai officials said the asylum seekers will be repatriated as soon as possible.

Outbreaks of violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and the Rohingyas in Myanmar have killed dozens and displaced thousands since June 2012.