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Twenty three passengers were missing while more than 100 others swam ashore after an overcrowded boat sank along Malaysia’s longest river.

Liwan Lagang/Handout via Reuters
Survivors of a capsized boat in a remote part of Borneo island gather on a river bank Tuesday after they swam ashore.

The incident, a rarity in Malaysia, occurred in a remote patch of Borneo island where thousands rely on ferries as their sole means of transport.

The boat had a seating capacity of 74 but had 204 people on board as many piled on who didn’t want to miss the sole ferry that takes eight hours to run between Sibu and Belaga, police chief in charge of Belaga district, Mr Bakar anak Sebau, told The Wall Street Journal.


“The boat was negotiating a rapid when it hit a rock and sank,” Mr. Bakar said.

One hundred and eighty-one passengers swam to the banks of the river, which took about five to six minutes, he said.

“Marine divers and other rescue units including local police are on their way to search for the missing,” he added.

Official news agency Bernama reported most of the passengers were timber camp and palm oil plantation workers who were headed home to attend a forthcoming harvest festival.

Rivers form the backbone of transport network in most part of the Malaysian state of Sarawak in Borneo island where sprawling palm plantations and dense tropical forest make road construction difficult

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