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Malaysia said connected Monday (May 18, 2026) it had ended a hunt for passengers of a migrant vessel from Indonesia that sank disconnected the country's occidental seashore past week aft the bodies of each 16 missing were recovered.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) successful Perak authorities said 23 radical were rescued aft the vas sank disconnected Pangkor land westbound of peninsular Malaysia connected May 11.
Perak MMEA manager Mohamad Shukri Khotob told AFP that the hunt was called disconnected connected Saturday (May 16).
"It's the modular [procedure] for america to transportation retired hunt and rescue ngo for six days. We ended the hunt astatine 7:00 p.m. connected Saturday aft determination were nary caller discoveries successful the area," Mr. Mohamad Shukri said by telephone connected Monday (May 18).
He said each 23 survivors were Indonesian but helium was unsure if the 16 dormant were each their compatriots.
The migrants were trying to scope respective destinations successful Malaysia, including Penang, Terengganu, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur for work.
Mr. Mohamad Shukri said archetypal accusation from survivors that determination were 37 radical connected committee was inaccurate, arsenic those rescued and the assemblage number totalled 39.
Aside from the MMEA, the hunt ngo besides progressive the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Marine Police Force and section fisherfolk.
Relatively affluent Malaysia is location to millions of migrants from poorer parts of Asia, galore of them undocumented, moving successful industries including operation and agriculture.
But the crossings, facilitated by quality trafficking syndicates, are often hazardous starring to boats capsizing.
In 1 of the deadliest caller incidents, 36 migrants died successful November 2025 aft their vessel capsized adjacent the Thai-Malaysian coast.
