Malaysian authorities say they have arrested two Indonesian men in connection with one of two boat accidents that have left 15 people dead and 27 others still missing.
Eighty-two people have been rescued so far in an ongoing search off western Malaysia after the boats sank in separate incidents early on Wednesday.
The boats, both believed to be bound for the neighbouring Indonesian island of Sumatra, were carrying illegal migrant workers heading home for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Adnan Abdullah, head of criminal investigations in central Selangor state, said on Friday police had detained two Indonesians believed to be the shipping agent and co-ordinator of the boat that sank off Port Klang with 97 people aboard.
He added the duo were being held under the anti-trafficking and smuggling of migrants act, but did not comment further.
The Star daily reported the men, aged 44 and 54, were arrested early on Friday at a premises in Port Klang, the country's main port. Both have valid travel documents.
Twelve men and three women have died, while 27 others remain missing.
The second vessel carried 27 passengers and sank a little further south, near the district of Sepang. Twenty from that boat have been rescued, while seven are missing.
"The weather is clear. But we have not found anybody today," Zuhri Mat Akhir, a spokesman with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, told AFP.
"We will continue to search," he said, adding boats and helicopters had been dispatched to scour the sea.
Officials believe some of those yet to be accounted for have made it to land nearby and fled to avoid being apprehended by authorities.
Investigations are under way, but officials said both boats sank in rough seas and were overloaded - with the first one carrying more than three times its capacity.
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