Nine missing after boat capsizes in Malaysia

The boat was ferrying five foreign tourists and the other four are the local staff of a tour company.

At least nine people including five Australian tourists are missing after a Malaysian boat ferrying them to an island off Borneo capsized, police said on Tuesday.

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"The boat was ferrying five foreign tourists and the other four are the local staff of the tour company," a local police official in Sandakan, in Sabah state on Borneo island said.

The official said rescue operations begun in rough weather conditions.

"We have begun a search but it is raining and the sea is rough," he said.

Elsa Suliah, a official with local tour operator the Wildlife Expedition, said the Australians were heading to the nearby Libaran island when the boat capsized.

"They were heading to Libaran island. It is a 30-minute journey. They were in a medium size boat. The incident happened this afternoon," she said.