Malaysian police said on Thursday they found the six Afghan men who were missing after their boat capsized off Kota Tinggi in Malaysia's southern Johor state that left eight others drowned.

Police said they spotted the men on a beach near where the boat had capsized and are still verifying if there are more missing persons.

Eight people were drowned after an 11-meter-long boat believed to be ferrying some 25 Afghans and Iranians, including the eight dead, sank in rough sea off Kota Tinggi on Wednesday.

Twelve other men onboard were rescued later that day.

Police said the men, aged between 20 and 30, were trying to reach Indonesia before heading towards Australia.

The men were undocumented. "The journey was initially smooth but about two hours later, the sea became choppy and I could see water seeping into the boat," survivor Sayed told local daily New Straits Times. "The boatman turned off the engine and everyone panicked,"he said, adding that the boat was overloaded and there was nothing to hold on to when the boat started to sink.

Police are still looking for the boatman.