18 dead, 43 missing in RI boat tragedy

18 dead, 43 missing in RI boat tragedy

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Eighteen people died and 43 were
missing after a boat carrying 87 Indonesian illegal immigrants
capsized off the Malaysian coast during a storm, Malaysia's TV3
reported yesterday.

The boat, ferrying its passengers from Tanjung Pinang in
Indonesia's Riau islands, capsized when it was hit by big waves
two miles off Malaysia's southeast coastal town of Tanjong Balau
late on Friday night, it said.

Twenty-six of the boat's passengers managed to swim to safety,
the national Bernama news agency reported earlier yesterday,
quoting a police spokesman.

The spokesman said the search for more victims was being
carried out by Malaysia's Police Field Force, local residents and
the Marine Police.