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Number of Johor Bahru capsized boat victims reaches 45
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A man approaches a capsized boat that previously carried undocumented Indonesian migrant workers to Malaysia on Jan. 23, 2016. (JP/Fadli)
T
he number of undocumented migrant workers on board the boat that capsized over waters near Johor Bahru, Malaysia, has reached 45, with the evacuation of a total of 19 bodies, an officer said on Monday.
“Of the 19 victims, 16 were men and three women,” Riau Islands Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Saptono Erlangga told The Jakarta Post. Three of the victims had been identified, while another 16 were still in the autopsy process at Bhayangkara Hospital in Batam.
Seven of the passengers of the boat that capsized on Jan. 23 were declared safe.
The police had also named the boat owner, referred to only as K, who was believed to have managed the transportation of the workers from Batam, on its wanted list (DPO).
The secretary for the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Hermono, said the agency had no data regarding the number of the boat’s total passengers.
“Malaysian authorities informed us that some were found safe and were thought to be hiding, but we have no evidence,” Hermono said. “We know about the transport of undocumented workers only if there are arrests or accidents.”
He also said the problems surrounding undocumented workers should be discussed and coordinated thoroughly between Indonesia and Malaysia.
