A small rickety wooden boat believed to be carrying around 70 Indonesian migrants sank in the Malacca Strait early Thursday (Sep 3) killing at least 13 people, Malaysian officials said.

The boat sank in choppy waters off Malaysia's western coast near Sauh Cape near the coastal town of Sabak Bernam in central Selangor state, Mohamad Aliyas Hamdan, the local head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, told AFP.

Around two million illegal immigrants - the vast majority of them from Indonesia - are estimated to be working in Malaysia. But maritime accidents are frequent as thousands attempt the perilous sea crossing, despite the risks, to seek low-paying jobs - typically shunned by Malaysians - on plantations, construction sites and in factories.

Indonesians often add to the risk by choosing to cross the Malacca Strait in darkness to avoid detection.

Last June an overloaded boat carrying 97 Indonesian migrants heading home for Ramadan sank overnight in rough seas off western Malaysia resulting the death of more than a dozen people

(Source: AFP)