Banting boat mishap: Another body found

Another body was recovered this morning, bringing the total number of deaths in the Banting boat mishap to 10 so far.

The body was recovered by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officers at 9.15am and was brought to the jetty by the fire and rescue department at 9.55am.

Of the 10 bodies recovered, eight were male. The latest body recovered was also a male.

The boat tragedy took place soon after midnight on Tuesday off the western coast of Selangor, near Sungai Air Hitam, Banting when it was reportedly on its way to Acheh. The boat was carrying 97 Indonesian immigrants.

A distress call was received at 12.24am followed by a rescue team arriving at the scene 30 minutes later.

Many of the victims are believed not to own legal travel documents or have misused their documents and overstayed their visit to the country.

Authorities believed more bodies will be discovered as victims who float in the sea without life jackets can only last for 24 hours.

The cause if the incident is still under investigation but authorities believe that the boat may have sunk due to overload or after hitting a sandbarge.

The bodies that were recovered yesterday were sent to Tuanku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang for post-mortem.

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