Foreign Ministry: 7 Indonesians Dead in Boat Sinking Incident in Malaysia's Perak

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Republic of Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) has confirmed that seven Indonesian citizens (WNI) were found dead after going missing in a boat sinking incident in the waters off Pulau Pangkor, Perak state, Malaysia.

Director of WNI Protection at Kemlu RI, Heni Hamidah, stated that the boat carrying 37 WNI sank on Monday morning (11/5) local time. A total of 23 passengers were successfully rescued, while 14 others went missing.

“From the 14 WNI who were previously under search efforts, seven have been found dead, and their bodies are currently at a hospital in Perak for identification and further handling by local authorities,” Heni said in a written statement, confirmed in Jakarta on Wednesday.

With the discovery of the seven fatalities, the remaining seven missing victims are still being searched for by Malaysian SAR authorities, the director at Kemlu RI added.

To facilitate victim identification, Kemlu RI will send a team to trace the families of the victims, who are believed to originate from North Sumatra. This is particularly important as most of the WNI victims of the boat accident are known not to have carried valid travel documents.

“This is for the purpose of identifying the surviving and deceased victims, as well as preparing related documents for further handling,” Heni explained.

She assured that the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur continues to coordinate with Malaysian maritime police for the handling of the WNI victims of the boat sinking.

The Embassy will also provide consular facilitation and travel documents for the surviving WNI as needed, she said.

In light of this incident, the Director of PWNI at Kemlu RI has once again urged the public not to use non-procedural or illegal routes for travelling or working abroad.

The 23 WNI victims of the boat accident who were successfully evacuated by the Malaysian SAR team consist of 16 men and seven women aged between 21 and 48 years.

All surviving victims have been taken to the Operations Headquarters of the Marine Police Force in Kampung Acheh, Perak, before being handed over to the relevant authorities for further handling.

According to statements from Malaysian maritime authorities, the victims are believed to have departed from Kisaran, North Sumatra, Indonesia, on Saturday (9/5) heading to Malaysia, with their final destinations estimated to include Penang, Terengganu, Selangor, and Kuala Lumpur.