MALAYSIAN authorities have recovered the bodies of seven Indonesians and are searching for more than 20 who were still missing after their boat capsized off the southern state of Johor on Saturday night.

    Search and rescue teams recovered the bodies of two men and two women as of Sunday afternoon, adding to the four that were found after the incident Saturday night, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said in a statement late Sunday. An earlier Reuters report put the death toll at eight.

    The dead and missing were among more than 60 people on the boat that capsized at around 9.45 p.m. Saturday night while on its way to nearby Batam in Indonesia, the statement added.

    Another 34 victims were rescued and handed over to immigration officials in Johor. All were said to be illegal immigrants from Indonesia, according to the deputy director of the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Saiful Lizan Ibrahim.

    The 34 victims, comprised of 26 men and eight women and aged between 20 and 50, are now being held at the Home Ministry Complex in Setia Tropika for further action.

    Kota Tinggi police chief Supt Rahmat Othman said the SAR operation which was now focusing on three nautical miles of beaches, would involve about 12 marine police, two policemen from Rengit police station as well as five firemen.

    Based on initial inspection, only three of the 34 victims rescued had passports while the rest did not have any identification documents.

    (SD-Agencies)