At least one woman drowned and 10 other people were rescued after a boat carrying around 90 illegal migrants capsized near the Malaysian-Thai border, Malaysian police said on Sunday. TASR writes about it according to an AFP report.
“The boat is believed to have capsized with 90 people on board,” said three days ago the chief of police in the state of Kedah in northwestern Malaysia to local media. He also stated that two other ships are also missing with a similar number of passengers, adding that rescue operations are underway to find survivors.
According to Malaysian maritime authorities, the incident likely took place near the Thai island of Ko Tarutao, north of Malaysia’s popular tourist archipelago of Langkawi. “So far we have managed to find 11 people, including one dead person,” Kedah Maritime Authority director Romli Mustafa said. He added that there will probably be more victims.
Malaysia is home to millions of migrants from other parts of Asia who work in construction or agriculture. Many of these persons do not have the necessary documents. Indonesians illegally trying to get work in Malaysia often risk their lives trying to get across the sea. Accidents are frequent in such cases due to adverse weather and insufficient safety measures.
