MMEA director-general Hamid Amin said they received information about a capsized boat carrying undocumented migrants who were reportedly sheltering at a lighthouse in the area.

“MMEA received a report at 9.55am from one of the victims’ family members via the MERS 999 hotline.

“Based on the information, the victims, comprising 11 men and seven women from a neighbouring country, survived the incident and were at a lighthouse in the vicinity,” he said in a statement.

He said MMEA sought the assistance of the marine police force (PPM) to rescue and bring the victims to the PPM jetty at Pulau Indah for further action.

The victims were believed to have attempted to enter the country illegally before the boat capsized, and all of them survived by swimming to the lighthouse.

He said a preliminary investigation found that none of them had valid travel documents.