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Death toll of sunken boat carrying Indonesian workers rises to 61

Xinhua, September 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Rescuers have discovered 61 bodies after a boat carrying Indonesian workers capsized in Malaysia's waters on Thursday, Indonesian rescuer said here on Monday.

"As many as 61 bodies have been found and 20 other have been rescued," Muhbadari, official in charge at the Indonesian national search and rescue office told Xinhua by phone.

Search operation which also involves rescuers from the national search and rescue office to find the other victims persists, he said.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered Indonesian rescuers to carry out search operations.

The wooden boat, believed to be carrying 70 Indonesian migrant workers and heading for Indonesia, capsized off Malaysia' s western coast on Thursday.

According to Mohd Eliyas, an official of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), overloading and bad weather are the two most likely causes of the accident. Endi