BEIJING — Rescue efforts continued off the Malaysian west coast Wednesday to find survivors from a boat carrying 97 Indonesian migrants that sank just after midnight. At least 60 people have been rescued so far, with the remaining still missing, Malaysia’s maritime agency said.
The vessel, believed to be wooden, sank off Port Klang near Banting on the Strait of Malacca. The passengers included women and children, Muhammad Zuri, an official with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, told the Reuters news agency. He said the boat was “illegal” and not fit for a sea voyage.
The Indonesians were heading home ahead of the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, said the Associated Press. Tens of thousands of Indonesians work illegally in Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, where wages are higher than in their homeland.
As the boat sank not far from shore, more survivors might have made it to land, Mohamad Hambali Yaakup, head of the MMEA office at Port Klang, Malaysia’s main port, told the Agence France-Presse news agency. “We believe the boat was overcrowded and the sea was rough during the incident,” he said. Five vessels and a helicopter were searching for survivors, said AFP.
Australian officials searching for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, missing since March 8, said Wednesday that a second ship has joined a Chinese navy vessel to conduct mapping of the sea floor in an area off Western Australia. This so-called bathymetric survey will take at least three months, before the deep water search recommences in August.
Dozens missing after boat sinks off Malaysian coast
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