Tawau boat capsize: Nine bodies recovered

Nine bodies have been found so far in the waters of Malaysia and Indonesia, following a boat capsize tragedy in Tinagat waters near Tawau on Tuesday.

Tawau police chief ACP Fadil Marsus said, three of the bodies, a man, a woman and a child, were found in the Malaysian waters.

The remaining six bodies were found in the Indonesian waters, comprising a male adult, a female adult, a pregnant woman and three boys.

One of the bodies was found in the Sungai Taiwan area, Laut Sebatik in Indonesia, while two more were located around the waters of Karang Unaran Sebatik.

On Tuesday, a speedboat carrying 15 Indonesian nationals, including the skipper, sank after it was believed to have been hit by strong waves about five to 10 minutes after leaving the Tinagat Batu Payung jetty at 5.30 pm heading for Sungai Nyamuk Indonesia.

However, two of the 15 people on the boat managed to save themselves by swimming to Pantai Batu Payung.

As at 9am today, Fadil said eight of the 15 victims involved in the sinking incident were identified as 26-year-old Budiman Muslimin (safe) and 24-year-old Hasmida Masaniaga (safe), Amiruddin Beddure, Hadra Binti Hadde, Taqi Muhd Zaki, Muhd Faiz, Nur Hafizah, and Muhd Ashraf.