Zin Azman pointing to a map of where the boat and the radius of the search and rescue operations are being conducted. – Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING (Oct 3): Rough sea conditions are likely the main factor which caused a fishing boat with ten individuals onboard to capsize and sink near Pulau Satang Besar, Telaga Air yesterday, said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak director First Admiral Zin Azman Md Yunus.
According to him, the weather alert in the area early yesterday indicated that thunderstorms and waves measuring to about one to two metres high would occur in the afternoon.
“However, we believe that the weather was fine in the morning when the boat left the jetty with all ten onboard,” said Zin Azman to a press conference at the Telaga Air jetty today.
Due to the changing monsoon, he said the weather can shift at any moment, bringing strong winds and choppy seas which can be extremely dangerous to smaller crafts or boats.
“Most probably, the boat was continuously hit by big waves which caused it to lose control and sink,” said Zin Azman.
He also said the sunken boat has been located some two nautical miles off Pulau Satang and the authorities will leave it to the boat owner to retrieve it.
Touching on the discovery of the victims earlier today, Zin Azman said the first victim – the boat skipper named Baki was found at around 12.30am by a group of local fishermen in the nearby area.
The other victims whom are all anglers named Amri Abdullah, Mohd Asri Ibrahim, Muhammad Redzuan Rasul, Zaharudin Yusoff, Mohamad Faris Azizan, Mohd Firdaus Mohd Denan, Mohd. Sahrin Sahir and Rais Yahya were found by another group of fishermen in stages between 12.30am and 4am.
“All of the victims were found floating at sea. It is also important to note that all of them were wearing their life jackets,” he added.
He also said all of the rescued victims arrived at the Telaga Air jetty safely at around 5am today.
On today’s search and rescue operation to locate the last victim – Awang Omar Awang Hamsawi who is the boat’s first mate, Zin Azman said MMEA will continue their search in the area with the help of other agencies such as the Fire and Rescue Department and the Royal Malaysian Police Air Wing Unit.
“We will continue our search until the last victim is found, I sincerely hope that with all the agencies involved, the victim can be found as soon as possible,” he added.
Meanwhile, Zin Azman defended the agencies’ decision to postpone the search and rescue (SAR) operation at around 6.30pm yesterday.
“During a search and rescue operation, the main objective is to ensure the safety of the victims,” said Zin Azman.
He added that as soon as the weather gets dark, the search party will have poor visibility in the area which will increase the likelihood of the search boats knocking into the victim who are floating at the sea.
“That is why, the operation was postponed until at first light,” he added.
He was responding to Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah’s query as to why was the SAR operation postponed by the agencies at around 6.30pm despite the good weather conditions.
On another update, Zin Azman said that another boat with five anglers has been reported to have failed to return to the jetty yesterday.
“However, no report of missing person has been received from the family members of these five individuals. We believe that their boat has broken down,” he added.
Zin Azman said the boat owner is also in close contact with MMEA on any updates.
“We have also told the ongoing search party to keep an eye out for the boat,” he said.