Another Boat Capsized on Malaysian Waters, Three Reported Dead
19 October 2018 19:41 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Kuala Lumpur - At least three people died after an overloaded boat that transports Indonesian citizens for the Eid al-Fitr homecoming, sank off southern Malaysia waters on Thursday, July 24, 2014. Iskandar Ishak, local head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, said that the boat capsized in rough seas off Malaysia's Johor state with 21 Indonesian illegal migrant workers aboard and sank.
"An intense sea and air search and rescue operation is underway in the Malacca Straits with sea conditions being slightly choppy," Ishak said. Channel News Asia later reported that three bodies were recovered, ten people were rescued, and eight more remained missing.
In June, more than a dozen Indonesians died and about two dozen others went missing in similar tragedies off Malaysia's west coast. The incident sparked a national concern for the Malaysians as to whether most of the victims were illegal foreign workers, scrapping for fortune without proper legal documents.
ANINGTIAS JATMIKA | CHANNEL NEWS ASIA
