66 feared drowned as boat sinks off Malaysia

A wooden boat carrying 97 people from Indonesia has sunk off the western coast of Malaysia and 66 of the passengers are missing, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency has said.

"This was an illegal boat and all the passengers were Indonesian," said Muhammad Zuri, a Malaysian maritime agency official.

Zuri said 31 passengers had been rescued, according to The Guardian.

The passengers included women and children and were suspected of trying to reach Malaysia illegally, the report says.