Nine bodies were recovered with the latest body found in Tanjung Rhu in Sepang at approximately 7.20pm today.

The victims include seven men and two women who were on board the boat ferrying 97 passengers which capsized off the western coast of Selangor, near Sungai Air Hitam, Banting, early this morning.

So far, 62 victims -- 49 men, 12 women and one child have been rescued by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MAME) since search and rescue operations began early this morning.

Twenty-six people, however are still feared missing.

All on board are believed to be from Indonesia en route their home land to usher in the month of Ramadhan.

Search and rescue

According to a statement issued by the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department earlier, a distress call was received at 12.24am followed by a rescue team arriving at the scene 30 minutes later.

The department's assistant director of operations Mohd Sani Harul said a temporary command centre has been opened on Carey Island to accommodate the 31 passengers who have been rescued.

Operations and rescue chief Mohd Jaslizad Jalil said the a search and rescue (SAR) team has also been sent to the coastline.

“Two maritime ships have been dispatched including a helicopter. A command centre is currently operating at the the Pantai Klanang Jetty,” said Jaslizad.

When contacted by Astro AWANI, Inspector Mohd Shamsul Sharif from Banting police station confirmed the 97 passengers involved in the incident were Indonesian citizens.

Indonesian Embassy sources told Astro AWANI that the embassy is currently working closely with the authorities involved.

The boat is said to have departed from the Sungai Air Hitam jetty early Wednesday morning en route to Acheh.

To date, Malaysia has an estimated 3.5 million foreigners in country, with more than one third of the total are illegal workers.

Undocumented workers, a large number are Indonesians, move in and out of the country illegally, and risk their lives in dangerous journeys in poorly equipped boats.