14 dead after migrant boat sinks off Malaysia
Md Mahfuzur Rahman || risingbd.com
File photo
Risingbd Desk: A boat carrying about 100 people capsized off the western coast of Malaysia near the busy Strait of Malacca, maritime authorities said on Thursday.
According to the media report, at least 14 people, among them 13 women, killed in the sinking incident.
Sources said, the agency sent out a rescue team on Thursday morning in response to a call from fishermen, the spokesman said, but the team has yet to return.
Media reports said the boat was carrying illegal immigrants, but maritime officials could not confirm this.
"We have deployed 12 ships and a plane along with some 200 officers to carry out the search and rescue operation for the remaining victims," rescue sources said.
"We fear the casualty numbers will rise as it`s been several hours since the boat sank," they added.
Malaysia, Southeast Asia`s third largest economy, has been a magnet for Indonesians in search of jobs.
But maritime accidents are frequent as thousands attempt the perilous sea crossing, despite the risks, to seek low-paying jobs - typically shunned by Malaysians - on plantations, construction sites and in factories.
Desperate migrants often add to the risk by choosing to cross the narrow Malacca Strait in darkness to avoid detection.
Last June more than a dozen people drowned when an overloaded boat carrying 97 Indonesian migrants heading home for Ramadan sank in rough seas off western Malaysia.
With agencies input
risingbd/ DHAKA/ Sept 3, 2015/ Mahfuz/ Augustin Sujan
risingbd.com