Malaysian authorities said Thursday 14 people had died and 27 others were still missing following two boat accidents at a time when many illegal migrant workers head home to Indonesia for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. In the latest reported incident, seven people remained missing off western Malaysia late Thursday after a boat believed to be bound for the Indonesian island of Sumatra sank, said Mohamad Hambali Yaakup, an official with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
A passing vessel, MMEA boats and a helicopter rescued eighteen people Thursday, he said. Two more survivors were pulled out of the water and brought to land later in the day. Another maritime official, Hamid Mohamad Amin, said interviews with survivors revealed the boat sank as strong winds blew near the district of Sepang, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur, early Wednesday - not early Thursday as originally reported.
The accident came to light as authorities expanded a search for survivors of another boat - also bound for Sumatra - that sank just up the coast near Port Klang, the country's main sea port, with 97 Indonesians aboard, also early on Wednesday. Fourteen bodies have been found after that accident, while 20 remain missing, Mohamad Hambali said late Thursday, though officials believe some of them made it to land nearby and fled the area to avoid being apprehended by authorities. Officials said they were still investigating the accidents, but both boats sank in rough seas and were overloaded - with the first one carrying more than three times its capacity.
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