KOTA KINABALU: Three anglers have villagers and local fishermen to thank after being rescued when their rented boat sank in the Tuaran district.
The three men, whose identification details were not obtained, nearly drowned following the afternoon incident at Mimpian Jadi beach in Tuaran on Wednesday (Jan 22).
According to the State Fire and Rescue Department, they received a distress call at around 12.35pm, and a team was dispatched to the scene for search and rescue operations.
"However, upon reaching the scene, we were informed that one person had been rescued by villagers not long after the incident, and two more were found safe at around 1.50pm," said the department in a statement.
Senior operation commander Mohamad Nor Amit said the first victim was sent to the Tuaran hospital before firemen arrived, and the two others were found by fishermen about 2km from where the boat was reported to have sunk.
"Both victims were taken to the police station to lodge a report," he said.
Firemen concluded their operations on-site after ensuring there were no more hazardous elements at 2pm.
