[BREAKING] Up To 66 Feared Missing After Boat Capsizes Off Banting

Search and rescue operations have gone into its fourth day for the remaining 20 foreigners missing following the capsizing of a boat along Sungai Air Hitam here. Fire and Rescue department operations commander Azmi Saadon said a total of 174 personnel and 15 boats from various agencies were deployed at around 9am on Saturday.

"We also have a helicopter assisting us in our search for the remaining victims. "Today we have divided the search into four areas from Tanjung Ru to Tanjung Tongkah," he said adding that the agencies involved in the search included the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Royal Malaysia Navy and Fire and Rescue Department.

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Meanwhile, two Indonesian nationals have been detained in connection with the boat which sunk off Sungai Air Hitam, Banting with 97 passengers onboard on Wednesday. The men, aged 44 and 54, were detained at about 3am, Friday following a raid on a premise in Port Klang.

Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Mohd Adnan Abdullah said the two men were believed to be the boat’s shipping agent and “tekong darat” (ground coordinator). “We seized their mobile phones to help assist in the investigation. They have been remanded until June 26,” he told a press conference on Friday. He added the two had valid identification and travel documents.

The number of casualties in the Sungai Air Hitam boat tragedy on Tuesday, increased to 14 after three more bodies were found near Pantai Morib, Carey Island and Port Klang at 5pm and 6.30pm today.

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"The 14 dead comprised 11 men and three women. The search for another 20 reported missing will go on," he told reporters here yesterday. Today a 34-year-old woman was found safe in Tanjung Sepat but 20 victims are still missing.

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The two boats which sank in the waters off Sungai Air Hitam, Pulau Carey and the waters off Sepang yesterday could have been managed by the same agent.

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A second boat in two days has capsized off Malaysia, leaving dozens of Indonesian migrants missing. In the most recent accident, nine people are missing.

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In the incident at Beacon Api Gila, in the waters off Sepang, nine foreigners believed to be Indonesians are feared drowned while 18 others were rescued when their boat overturned at 5am yesterday (June 18).

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The death toll of Wednesday's sinking boat off Sungai Air Hitam, Pulau Carey here has increased to 11 with two more bodies found believed to be passengers onboard.‎ The two, one male and one female, were found Thursday by the Search and Rescue (SAR) team.

Kuala Langat OCPD Supt Azman Abdul Razak said another two more survivors were also found Thursday morning making the total passengers rescued so far 63. He added that police believed that another 23 passengers were missing.‎

On Wednesday, officials said 61 people were rescued or made it to land by themselves after the accident around midnight near Port Klang, Malaysia's largest port, as authorities intensify the search with nine ships and a helicopter.

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As of 7pm yesterday, 61 passengers have been rescued. Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Sani Harul said the nine bodies comprised seven men and two women. “Their bodies were found floating near the shores while 61 others were rescued. The search and rescue operation will continue, since another 27 have not been accounted for.

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"Rough seas are making our rescue operation difficult. But we will continue the search with rotating teams until the remaining people are found," he said. The boat sank not far from shore, raising hopes that many of the missing had made it to safety on their own, Mohamad Hambali added.

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The immigrants on board the ill-fated boat that sunk near Sungai Air Hitam yesterday had paid between RM1,000 and RM1,200 each to head back to Indonesia for Ramadan, Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Herman Prayitno said. Herman, while expressing his sympathies to families of the victims, said the boat was overloaded as the passengers were eager to return to their homes in Aceh and Bandung.

“Many of them were in the country illegally as their tourist visas had expired and they had overstayed. They were finding work here but were on their way back to Indonesia for Ramadan," he said after visiting some of the survivors at the Tanjung Karang police station. “It is a sad tragedy."

Herman said the 30 immigrants at the station were in good health and were recovering from the traumatising event. “The police have provided them with enough food and necessities. They will investigate the matter but the Indonesian government is willing to provide any form of assistance if required," he said. “Police have assured me that they will continue searching for the other victims until they are found.”

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Kuala Langat OCPD Supt Azman Abdul Razak said 30 survivors were being held at the Tanjung Karang police station while the rest were at the Customs Department in Klang.

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Up to 66 foreign nationals are missing after a wooden boat they were on sank two miles from Sungai Air Hitam, off Banting, just after midnight. A Reuters report stated that the passengers are believed to be Indonesians, quoting government maritime agency.

A boat carrying 97 people from Indonesia sank off the western coast of Malaysia and 61 of the passengers are still missing, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said on Wednesday.

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The passengers included women and children and were suspected of trying to reach Malaysia illegally, a spokesman for the agency said. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency had sent one boat to the area to search for survivors and was sending two more, the spokesman said.

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The distress call was received by the Banting Fire and Rescue department at about 12.24am Wednesday and a search and rescue team (SAR) was dispatched to the scene 30 minutes later.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing to find the remaining passenger, with the fire and rescue department monitoring the coast.