The remaining 23 people have been rescued and handed over to the police for further investigation. According to initial information, the boat came from Indonesia.
Malaysia is home to millions of migrants, many of them undocumented, from poorer parts of Asia. However, the journeys organised by people smugglers into the country are often very dangerous. One of the deadliest recent accidents occurred in November last year, when 36 migrants died in a boat accident near the Thai-Malaysian border.
