Death toll rises to 61 in boat capsizal off Malaysia
Xinhua, September 6, 2015 Adjust font size:
Four more bodies were found late Sunday in the waters off the west coast of Malaysia, bringing the death toll of victims in the boat capsizal last week to 61, according to Bernama, Malaysia's state news agency.
It quoted local police chief as saying that all the bodies were found at around 5 p.m. about eight nautical miles from the scene of the incident by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) with the assistance of local fishermen.
According to the police, 23 women, a girl and 37 men lost their lives in the incident, while 20 people, including a woman, were rescued.
It was reported that the capsized boat, believed to be carrying between 70 and 80 people when the tragedy happened, could only accommodate between 10 and 15 passengers.
The boat capsized early Thursday off Malaysia's western coast in the Malacca Strait, and most of the passengers were believed to be Indonesian migrants. Endi