Three Indonesian workers were killed and several others were injured in a brawl in Sarawak, local media reported today.

One of the victims had machete wounds to his head while a second victim was nearly hacked in half at the waist during the fight involving members of the Bugis and Bima ethnic groups.

The brawl erupted after Indonesians working at a plantation in Batu Niah, some 120 kilometres south of Miri, attended a wedding for an Indonesian couple, the papers said.

"Based on the initial report, the Indonesian workers were having a celebration following a wedding ceremony on Sunday night," Miri deputy police chief Abang Abdillah Abang Othman told The Star .

"A quarrel broke out after a drinking session and they started attacking each other."

At least one suspect has been arrested. More than 300 Indonesian labourers work in the plantations near Batu Niah, Utusan Malaysia said. - AFP