11 dead, 25 still missing after boat capsized off Malaysian coast
11 people drowned and another 25 people are still missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Johor in southern Malaysia. Bodies of Indonesian migrants were found on a beach in Tanjung Balau early yesterday morning. Officers at Johor Fire and Rescue Department found the overturned boat on the shore near the bodies. So far, 14 people survived.
The deputy director for Johor maritime operations told reporters that they believe the boat had travelled from Indonesia and sunk after being hit by strong wave. Malaysia’s Johor state borders Singapore and is along the busy shipping route the Strait of Malacca, which stretches from the Malay Peninsula to Indonesia’s island of Sumatra.
An investigation by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) shows that the victims entered Malaysian seas illegally before the boat capsized owing to inclement weather, according to First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria.
