By Brad Rantayy
MIRI, Oct 16: The search and rescue (SAR) operation for the 35-year-old tugboat crew, who went missing in waters off Kuala Baram last Wednesday night (Oct 12) was called off today.
According to Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Miri deputy director (operation) Maritime Commander Eizanizam Muhammad Eng, the decision was made after no clues as to the whereabouts of the missing man were found.
The decision was made after a discussion was held between the missing man’s father and the various agencies involved.
Since the first day of the SAR on Oct 13, the operation involved both land and air assets.
“For the aerial search, we covered more than 10,000 square km and 25km of the land scale started from Kuala Baru 1 upbto Kuala Baram area,” said Eizanizam in a brief press conference held today.
Also present was the missing man’s father.
On Oct 12 around 9pm, the crew member was reported missing after he fell off a tugboat after it was hit by a huge wave while on its way to Miri from Bintulu.
Upon receiving a report on the incident, the authority immediately launched the SAR.
Various agencies were involved in the SAR including MMEA Miri, Civil Defense Force (APM) Miri, the police, marine police, Fire and Rescue Department, Shin Yang, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), and the marine community locally and from Brunei Darussalam. — DayakDaily
