27 Chinese tourists were on board Sabah ill-fated boat

The catamaran with 30 people on board

KOTA KINABALU: The number of Chinese tourists on the catamaran that sank while on its journey to Pulau Mengalum Saturday was 27 and not 28 as reported earlier, said Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Ramli Din.  

“One of the tourists who had registered and was supposed to be on the trip to the island cancelled his plans after seeing that the boat was full,” he said.  

He said this brings the number of missing persons down to five, including a crewman, and not six as reported earlier.  

The catamaran with 30 people on board – comprising 27 Chinese nationals and three crew members – sank at about 10am on Saturday after departing the Tanjung Aru jetty an hour earlier.

 

The search efforts began immediately after the company operating the vessel reported the mishap to the authorities 12 hours after the incident.

 

Most were rescued on Sunday afternoon. Twenty of the Chinese nationals survived their 32-hour ordeal at sea, while three died.