Malaysian authorities ended a nearly week-long search and rescue operation for victims of a boat capsizing tragedy involving Indonesian migrants in waters off Pulau Pangkor island last week, media reports said Sunday.
At least 16 people were killed, while 23 were rescued after a migrant boat carrying 37 undocumented passengers sank on May 11 off the island, state-run Bernama news agency reported. Perak Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the operation ended Saturday following no discoveries in the search area.
“Initial information obtained on the first day of the operation stated that the total number of victims was 37; however, the figure is believed to be inaccurate,” it said in a statement.