BALI (Sputnik) — As many as 14 people went missing in a shipwreck off the southeastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia, head of the local maritime enforcement agency said Thursday.
Late Wednesday, a dredge vessel with 15 people on board capsized on its way to Pengerang, southeastern Malaysia.
"The vessel was hit several times by strong waves before it capsized and its crew members falling into the sea…" Amran Daud, chief of the regional department of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
The vessel, which was under the Bolivian flag, had 15 crewmen on board, including one Malaysian and the rest being Chinese nationals, Daud said, adding that one Chinese man had been rescued by the crew of the passing ship.
Once the enforcement agency learned about the incident, it deployed its ship, three boats and an aircraft to find the other missing people, the agency's chief said.
The search and rescue operation has been underway, but weather conditions impede the process, according to Daud.
