Boat carrying 10 anglers feared to have sunk, SAR activated

KUCHING (Bernama): The Sarawak Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), has activated a search and rescue (SAR) operation at noon on Saturday (Oct 2) after a boat with ten anglers was reported to have sunk about two nautical miles from the waters of Pulau Satang here.

Its director, First Admiral (Maritime) Zin Azman Md Yunus, said it received a report via MERS 999 call from a complainant about the sinking of the boat and Rescue Boat 8, which was operating around Santubong waters, was dispatched to the scene.

He said an SAR Forward Base (PHC) has also been set up at Telaga Air Public Jetty.

"The sea and weather conditions at the scene today were a bit turbulent with wind speeds of 20 to 30km per hour and wave heights of 1.5 to 2.0m. The search also covered an area of two to 20 nautical miles from the waters of Pulau Satang.

"The SAR was postponed at 6.30pm after no clues were found and will resume at 7am on Sunday (Oct 3)," he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, Zin Azman urged the maritime community to cancel their intention to go to the sea if the weather is bad.

"If the situation is urgent to go to sea, prioritise safety by always wearing a safety jacket as the weather conditions at sea at this time are not good, especially the Northeast Monsoon season which starts from October 2021 to March 2022," he said. - MMEA