Boat sinks off western Malaysia, 61 feared drowned
| Kuala Lumpur
A boat carrying 97 people from聽Indonesia聽sank off the western coast of聽Malaysia聽and 61 of the passengers are still missing, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said on Wednesday.
The passengers included women and children and were suspected of trying to reach聽Malaysia聽illegally, a spokesman for the agency said. The agency had sent one boat to the area to search for survivors and was sending two more, the spokesman said.
Malaysia's聽New Straits Times聽said the boat sank around midnight on Tuesday about two miles (3 km) from the coastal town of聽Banting聽on the Strait of Malacca. (Reporting By Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Paul Tait)
