10 Indonesian migrants killed as boat sinks offshore Malaysia

Jakarta, Sep 30 (Xinhua) At least 10 Indonesian migrants were killed as their boat capsized on its way to their country from Malaysia, the Indonesian foreign ministry said Tuesday.

The wooden boat carrying more than 100 people departed from Pulau Permai in Malaysia to Tanjung Balai of Karimun, Indonesia, Teguh Wardoyo, director of protection for Indonesian citizen of the ministry said.

According to Malaysian media reports, the boat sank off the coast near Klang, a sea port located 40 km southwest of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Eleven people died in the mishap and 10 of them were Indonesians, he said.

He said that 112 people have been rescued and scores of those injured were rushed to nearby hospital in Kelang of Malaysia city of Slangor.

The rescue operation is still under way, he said, blaming the poor weather for the accident.

Wardoyo said that the boat was overloaded with Indonesian migrants wanting to return home for celebrating the Islamic festivity Eid-ul-Fitr Wednesday.

'The boat was overcrowded and it sailed amid huge waves,' he said.

It is estimated that more than 2 million legal migrants and about 700,000 illegal, mostly from Indonesia, are engaged in mainly low-wage jobs in Malaysia.