Marine police Region 1 operations command officer Mazre Che Mahmod said the bodies were discovered by the navy’s KD Sri Indera Sakti about 20 nautical miles from the location of the incident at about 6pm yesterday.

“An investigation to determine the identities of the three victims is ongoing,” he said.

Mazre said the latest discovery brought the total number of victims found so far to 30, after 23 of them were rescued on the first day of the search and rescue operation on Monday.

Four bodies were found in the waters off Pulau Pangkor yesterday.

“We are searching for seven more victims,” he said, adding that the third day of the SAR operation resumed at 7am today, involving the marine police, the navy, and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

The boat was carrying 37 undocumented migrants from Indonesia who reportedly departed from Kisaran for Malaysia on May 9.