KUCHING, April 5: Five people survived a sinking boat incident in Tanjung Jerijeh, Tanjung Manis after floating for 18 hours until they were found and rescued by other fishermen, while one boatman is still missing at sea.
In a news report by TVS, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Tanjung Manis Maritime Zone director Commander Gilbert Tinggak Numpang said the fishing boat carrying six people sank at 6.30pm on Monday (April 3) near Belawai waters.
The five victims found at 12.40pm on Tuesday (April 4) are Mahamad Obeng, Agus Supridi, Johari, Apek and Mohamad Syafiq Shahzwan Sulaiman.
“The boat was hit by a storm due to bad weather. All the victims had managed to put on their life jackets before jumping into the sea.
“The five survivors were reported to be floating and stayed near to each other until they were found by a passing fishing boat.
“Another victim appeared to have split from the group,” he said in a statement today.
The search and rescue operation was activated at noon on Tuesday after MMEA received a report of the incident.
The second day of the search operation continued this morning to find the missing boatman Wong Pak Wei.
According to Gilbert, the search operation which covered an area of 20 nautical miles on Tuesday has been expanded to 20.20 nautical miles today and will dive at the position where the boat sank with help of the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Water Rescue Team from Sibu’s Sungai Merah fire station.
The 50-member search and rescue team comprising Maritime assets, Marine Police Force, Bomba and Civil Defence Force (APM), was also assisted by three local fishing boats.
In a report by APM Tanjung Manis at 7.44pm today, divers did not find any sign of the missing man at the boat sinking site after searching the hatch area, lower compartment and engine area.
The search operation was postponed at 4.15pm today and will continue tomorrow. — DayakDaily
