The shipwreck killed at least 11 Indonesian migrants from Malaysia Migration News

A search has been launched for 14 people who have been found dead and missing after finding a boat on Tanjung Balau beach.

At least 11 Indonesian migrants have drowned on the southern coast of the Malaysian Peninsula after their ship capsized.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the country’s navy said 25 people were missing after 14 survivors and the boat was found on a beach in Tanjung Balau.

The MMEA said the ship capsized at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday (23:30 GMT Tuesday) off the coast of Johor State, which borders Singapore, and the Strait of Malacca, one of the most crowded maritime trade routes in the world, from Indonesia.

“It was believed that the ship had capsized after traveling from Indonesia and was hit by strong waves,” Capt. Simon Templer Lo Ak Tusa, a deputy director of Johor Marine Operations, told reporters.

All on board were from Indonesia, the MMEA said.

The accident is a series of disasters that have been reported on Indonesian-Malaysian waterways in recent years, often with overloaded boats transporting workers looking for work in Malaysian factories and plantations.

Jakarta-based Migrant CARE says Anis Hidayah says that between 100,000 and 200,000 Indonesians go to Malaysia illegally every year to look for work, many of whom are recruited by trafficking groups and exploited when they arrive.

“They travel to Malaysia by boat and there are a lot of accidents because they leave at night and arrive early in the morning,” he told Reuters, adding that the boats stop before they reach land and that those on board have to swim. on dry land.

People search Tanjung Balau beach after a migrant boat capsizes [Royal Malaysian Army/Handout via Reuters]