New | Nine dead, 27 missing after second boat sinks off coast of Malaysia

Malaysia’s maritime agency says nine people were missing after another boat carrying 27 Indonesians overturned off the country’s west coast, in the second such recent incident.

The incident Thursday came just a day after an overcrowded wooden boat carrying Indonesian illegal immigrants home sank in choppy seas, with 25 people still missing. Ten people died in that accident, but at least 62 people survived.

That boat was packed with three times more passengers than it could safely transport, authorities said on Thursday as they expanded their search for the missing.

Maritime agency official Mohammad Zuhri said that the second boat capsized early Thursday off Sepang town on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. He said 18 people, including four women, were rescued by passing merchant ships but nine others are still missing.

The boat was believed to have been headed to Tanjung Balai in Indonesia’s Sumatra island, he said.

Those on the boat that sank on Wednesday had been living and working in Malaysia illegally, and were returning to Indonesia for Ramadan, Indonesian Ambassador Herman Prayitno said at the time.