Indonesia Migrant Boat Tragedy Toll Hits 61

 

Malaysian maritime official Mohamad Hambali Yaakup says rescuers have retrieved the bodies of 37 men, 23 women and that of a young girl.

 

"The latest findings bring the number of victims closer to the earlier target of about 70 to 80 passengers. Even though it is approaching the target total, the operation center will remain open until further instructions," he said.

 

The overcrowded wooden boat capsized and sank in rough seas about 16 kilometres (10 miles) off the coast of central Malaysia's Selangor state before dawn on Thursday. The group were leaving Malaysia to return to Indonesia across the Malacca Strait.

 

Mohamad Aliyas Hamdan, a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency official said the search operation would continue for the next three days, adding that from information gained from the 20 people rescued, there were believed to have been up to 80 people on the small vessel.

 

The wooden boat was believed to have been taking migrant workers home to Tanjung Balai in Indonesia's Sumatra province when it sank on Thursday in bad sea conditions, not far from the coast of Sabak Bernam town in central Selangor state.

 

Hambali said on Monday that the search operation will continue. Such incidents are common in Malaysia, which has up to 2 million Indonesian migrants working illegally.

 

Such incidents are common in Malaysia, which has up to 2 million Indonesian migrants working illegally. The Indonesians work without permits on plantations and in other industries in Malaysia, and often travel between the two countries by crossing the narrow Strait of Malacca in poorly equipped boats.