ALOR SETAR: Six anglers survived a 16-hour ordeal after the boat they were in capsized 8.2 nautical miles south-east of Pulau Timun near Langkawi.
The boat was reported to have sunk at 6pm on Saturday due to bad weather.
A Perkasa 1228 boat was then deployed to the location where the six people were seen floating.
“All the victims were rescued by local fishermen who were in the area. They were later transferred onto the Perkasa 1228 boat and taken to the Bukit Malut jetty in Langkawi,” Kedah/Perlis MMEA director First Admiral (maritime) Romli Mustafa said in a statement.
He said the victims, aged between 34 and 70, were heading back home to Kuala Perlis at about 4pm after their fishing expedition.
However, the boat started taking on water and was sinking fast.
According to Bernama, all the passengers had their life jackets on and managed to cling onto the boat.
“One of the passengers was rushed to Hospital Sultanah Maliha in Langkawi for treatment due to exhaustion after the 16-hour ordeal,” he said.
He said the agency received a report of the incident from a fisherman at 8.55am yesterday.
Romli said those who wish to pursue activities at sea were reminded to take safety measures such as wearing a life jacket, checking the weather forecast, ensuring their boat was in good condition and bringing a personal locator beacon (PLB) along.
“The Kedah and Perlis State Maritime Operations Centre urges the public to report any emergency or accident through its online 24 hours emergency line MERS 999 or the Kuala Kedah Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 04-966 2750,” he added.
