Police officials in Malaysia have reported the deaths of three people as a result of a collision between two passenger boats off the coast of north-western Perak state on Monday, March 6.
The incident occurred at around 21:00 local time on Monday when a boat carrying 17 passengers and one captain and another vessel with four people on board struck each other near the Royal Malaysian Navy base at Lumut.
Thirteen passengers on one of the vessels fell into the sea due to the force of the impact. Ten were rescued safely while the remaining three were pulled unconscious from the water by the two boats' captains.
Tragically, the three unconscious passengers, all of whom were women aged between 26 and 43, died while undergoing treatment at the navy hospital in Lumut.
Of the remaining passengers and crew on both vessels, one is under intensive care in hospital while 17 others suffered only minor injuries and were treated by responding medical teams.
An investigation has been launched to identify the events that led to the collision.