12 bodies from Sabak Bernam boat tragedy identified - Police

The bodies of 12 of the 61 victims in the Sabak Bernam boat capsize tragedy on Sept 3 have been identified by their family members.

Hilir Perak police chief, ACP Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said that 11 bodies are now placed at Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, while the body of a two-year-old girl at Teluk Intan Hospital.

"Post mortem has been conducted on 23 bodies and 12 of them have been identified, while six bodies at the Teluk Intan Hospital are still going through the process of identification.

"I was informed that the Indonesian Disaster Victim Identification team will arrive in Ipoh to assist the identification process of other victims," he told reporters at the search and rescue (SAR) operations centre at Hutan Melintang jetty, here.

Mohd Shuhaily said once the identification process was completed, the bodies would be sent back to Indonesia, which would need assistance from the Indonesian Embassy.

Last Saturday, six victims, involving four females and two males, had been identified by their families.

The SAR operation had been carried out since Sept 3, involving seven agencies including Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Royal Malaysian Police, Royal Malaysian Navy and Civil Defence Department.

Until Sunday, 61 bodies of 23 women, a girl and 37 men women had been recovered, while 20 people, including a woman were rescued after the boat ferrying about 80 passengers capsized in Selangor waters on Sept 3.

The 13-metre long boat overturned while on the way from Kuala Sungai Bernam to Tanjong Balai, Indonesia.

It sank about nine nautical miles southwest of Tanjong Sauh.