Death toll in Malaysian boat accident rises to 16

The death toll from a boat accident off Malaysia rose to 16 yesterday after a search and rescue team found the bodies of five more Indonesian migrants on the shore.

The vessel, which was carrying about 50 Indonesians seeking to enter neighboring Malaysia illegally, capsized on Wednesday in stormy weather off the southern state of Johor.

Soldiers on patrol found 11 bodies on the shore in the hours after the accident, and the bodies of three more men and two women were recovered yesterday, the coast guard said.

Twenty migrants are believed to still be missing, and authorities have deployed boats and an aircraft to hunt for them.

Another 14 people survived the accident, and have been taken into custody.

Indonesians desperate for work sometimes try to enter neighboring Malaysia illegally by making sea crossings in rickety boats, but accidents happen regularly.