Eight dead, five missing in boat accident off Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Eight men have drowned and five others are missing after a boat loaded with 25 people believed to be from Afghanistan and Iraq overturned off southern Malaysia, police said Wednesday.

Police found the bodies of eight men on a beach in southern Johor state early Wednesday, said Che Mahazan Che Aik, a district police chief, while 12 others managed to swim to shore after their boat overturned.

Search and rescue operations were underway to find five others believed to be missing at sea, Che Mahazan said. (AFP)