Trip to paradise turns into nightmare at sea

Finding comfort: Family members of victims of the catamaran that sank on its way to Pulau Mengalum console each other. (Below) Survivors of the boat tragedy are rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu for treatment. —Bernama

KOTA KINABALU: A trip to a tropical island in the South China Sea seemed an idyllic way to usher in the lunar new year for Fan Li Xia.

That turned into a nightmare for the 40-year-old from China when the boat she and a group of friends were in suddenly started listing and sank as they were heading to Pulau Mengalum.