At least 15 people have died and dozens are believed to be missing after a wooden boat carrying 70 capsized off the western coast of Malaysia on Thursday.
Maritime authorities confirmed 13 of the dead were women, with local fishermen reported pulling bodies from the sea along the coast.
The individuals on the boat are believed to be illegal workers returning to Indonesia.
Another 19 passengers, including 18 men and one woman, were rescued from the water, according to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
First Admiral Mohd Aliyas Hamdan said that the boat was likely to have been heavily overcrowded when it capsized.
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The search was suspended on Thursday night, but local district police chief, ACP Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, said efforts would continue on Friday.
The boat sank in the Sabak Bernam district in the Malaysian state of Selangor, near the busy Strait of Malacca, during rough seas.
The narrow strait is among the busiest in the world, crossed by one-third of the sea’s shipping trade.
Malaysia hosts up to two million Indonesian migrant workers, who often work without visas and in dire conditions. They travel to and from the country in poorly equipped wooden vessels that are prone to sinking.
Additional reporting by Reuters
