Boat Carrying 57 Indonesian Migrant Workers Capsizes in Malaysia

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesian embassy in Malaysia has confirmed that a boat carrying 57 non-procedural migrant workers from Indonesia has capsized in Malaysian waters.

Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono said the boat sank in Sekinchan, Selangor, on Saturday, December 25. Four crew and 35 passengers were rescued, while others were presumed dead.

“10 bodies were found, and the rest remains unknown. The boat departed from Batu Bara regency, North Sumatra,” Hermono said on Tuesday, December 28, as reported by Antara.

The ambassador said that according local to fishermen, on Saturday at 10.00 local time, three Malaysian fishing boats found a sinking boat and saw 20 people that needed to be rescued. The victims were then transferred to Indonesian boat that was sailing in nearby water and then be brought back to Indonesia.

According to the fishermen, several victims were already dead at the time.

Based on that information, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) contacted Indonesian Police attaché and Indonesian embassy two days later to start coordination.

Furthermore, Hermono said MMEA also found another body in a nearby location during its patrol. It was suspected to be one of the victims, and the body has been handed to Sekinchan police station for visum et repertum purpose.

MMEA will continue the search operation for other victims, and it will inform the Indonesian embassy of further findings. The embassy is also working closely with the National Police, North Sumatra Police, and Tanjung Balai Naval Base to find the perpetrators who are responsible of the smuggling of Indonesian migrant workers to Malaysia.

Hermono also called for people whose family members are missing or left the country through a non-procedural way to contact nearest police.