Sabah boat mishap: Rescued Chinese tourists undergoing medical treatment

The survivors were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital shortly after arriving at the Marine Police jetty. - Bernama pic

KOTA KINABALU: The 20 Chinese nationals who were pulled from the sea after their boat sank on Saturday are undergoing medical treatment.

They were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital shortly after arriving at the Marine Police jetty here just before 2am, Monday.

They were rescued at about 6pm on Sunday by a fishing trawler.

Three people were found dead.

The catamaran's skipper and a crewman who were the first to be rescued, at around 2pm on Sunday near Pulau Tiga, had arrived in Kota Kinabalu earlier.

Six others are still missing. The search operation to locate them resumed Monday morning.

The catamaran capsized sometime after setting off at 9am on Saturday from Tanjung Aru jetty to Pulau Mengalum.

The survivors appeared exhausted and all suffered from severe sunburn.

“Their skin was sensitive and they were all dehydrated,” said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who boarded the fishing trawler to check on the survivors.

The minister alighted from the fishing trawler a while later in his undershirt, saying that he had given his shirt to one of the survivors who was cold and shivering.

He said another of the survivors expressed their gratitude for the search and rescue effort that led to them being rescued.

“This survivor also told me that when she last saw the group of six who are still missing, one of them appeared to be unconscious,” Shahidan said.

He said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) was adding two more aircraft, a Bombardier plane and a helicopter, to the search and rescue effort.

Also present at the jetty were China Consul General for Sabah Chen Peiji as well as state Assistant Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Pang Yuk Ming.