15 dead in Malaysia boat-capsize, 40 missing

Kuala Lumpur, September 4: The toll in a boat-capsize off the western coast of Malaysia in the Malacca Straits rose to 15 on Friday with over 40 missing, media reported. The bodies of 15 passengers were found in the sea about nine utical miles southwest of Tanjung Sauh port, where the incident occurred on Thursday morning, the Malaysian Star reported. Some fishermen saved 19 passengers from the “pom-pom boat”, a wooden vessel about 40ft to 50ft long, which was carrying about 70 to 80 passengers. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) chief First Admiral Mohd Aliyas Hamdan said the Indonesia-registered boat could have been overloaded and that most of the passengers were suspected to be illegal migrants. (ians)