A boat ferrying Indonesians home for the Hari Raya festive season sank as it was crossing the Strait of Malacca, resulting in at least three deaths.
Three bodies were recovered from the incident which happened early yesterday, while ten people were rescued. Eight more people remained missing.
Iskandar Ishak, head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, said the boat capsized in rough seas off the coast of Johor with 21 Indonesian illegal migrant workers onboard.
The boat was believed to have been on its way to Riau, when it was hit by strong waves 27 kilometres off the Johor coast.
“An intense sea and air search and rescue operation is underway in the Malacca Straits with sea conditions being slightly choppy,” he said, as reported by The Malay Mail Online.
Iskandar added that the boat involved in the incident had an actual capacity of just eight passengers.
