Multiple fatalities as boat carrying nearly 100 suspected migrant workers capsized in Indonesian waters

AT least 20 people are dead, including a baby, after a boat carrying nearly 100 undocumented migrant workers from Malaysia capsized and sank in Indonesian waters.

Indonesian police officers carry the body of a victim who drowned after a boat capsized in Batam, Indonesia. Picture: AP/M Urip

A BOAT carrying Indonesian workers home from Malaysia capsized in stormy weather, and Indonesian police said at least 20 people have died.

About 90 people were on the vessel that capsized off the island of Batam about 5am, the island’s police chief Sambudi Gusdian said.

A woman believed to have organised the illegal boat trip was arrested. Picture: AFP/SEI LATIFA

A search effort rescued 39 people, but a baby was among the bodies taken to a local hospital.

Police suspect the trip was illegal and the workers were undocumented because of the high fares that passengers said they paid.

Gusdian said an Indonesian woman believed to be responsible for the voyage was arrested as she tried to leave Batam for nearby Singapore.

Haryanto, a 51-year-old survivor, said the speedboat capsized amid heavy rains and high waves about two hours after it left Johor Bahru in Malaysia. He said the boat was overcrowded with standing room only.

Survivors wait for identification at a police station. Picture: AFP / SEI LATIFA

“It was so crowded, some of us could not sit.” He was saved by fishermen after swimming for about two hours.

A police helicopter and more than a dozen boats were involved in the search and rescue effort.

Speedboats and ferries are a common form of transport in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago.

Sinkings are common due to poorly enforced safety regulations.

One of the worst ferry sinkings in recent years occurred off Sulawesi in 2009, killing more than 330 people.