Search and rescue teams have found four more bodies of the boat capsize tragedy off the waters of Sabak Bernam late this evening, bringing the total number of victims in the incident to 61.

Hilir Perak police chief, ACP Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said all the bodies were found by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) with the assistance of local fishermen at about 5 pm.

"The bodies were found about eight nautical miles from the scene of the incident and they were found close to each other.

"The latest findings bring the number of victims closer to the earlier target of about 70 to 80 passengers. Even though it is approaching the target total, the operation centre will remain open until further instructions," he told reporters at the Search and Rescue Operation Centre at Hutan Melintang jetty today.

He said the search and rescue effort which began on Thursday involved seven agencies including MMEA, police, navy as well as the Civil Defence Department.

Mohd Shuhaily said the bodies of victims were later brought to the Hutan Melintang jetty at about 7.40pm with two bodies sent to Sungai Buloh Hospital and another two to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for post-mortem and identification.

To date, the bodies of passengers found comprised 23 women as well as a girl and 37 men while another 20 victims including a woman were rescued after the boat carrying 70 passengers sank in Selangor waters on Thursday morning.

The 40-foot boat capsized while on the way from Kuala Sungai Bernam to Tanjong Balai, Indonesia.

The incident occurred at about nine nautical miles southwest of Tanjong Sauh.

- Bernama