Tragic end: Rescue personnel lifting the capsized boat from the waters in Tanjung Harapan, off Klang.
PORT KLANG: ‘Everything happened in the blink of an eye’, is how the sole survivor of the boat capsize tragedy, Alvin Chang Yan Qin, 17, recalls the tragedy.
Chang, who narrated the incident at the search and rescue site in Tanjung Harapan near here yesterday, said he believed the mishap occurred when the boat was making a U-turn.
“The boat was moving very fast then. It took only seconds for water to rush in, and it capsized,” he said, adding the disaster took place some 30 minutes after the boat set sail from the Royal Selangor Yacht Club here.
In the tragedy that took place on Friday evening at 0.3 nautical miles west of Tanjung Harapan, three people died while two others are still missing at press time.
The remains of three-year-old Darren Gan as well as Cheu Son Hin, 50, and Fong Yong Sen, 29, were found in the boat and were sent to Hospital Shah Alam.
The boat is believed to belong to Cheu.
Darren’s parents Gan Hon Tat, 32, and Careen Man, 29, are still missing and a search and rescue operations has been mounted under the coordination of the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) Johor Baru together with the Selangor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Marine Police, the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) and Fire and the Rescue Department.
“Everything was in total confusion and I managed to get out from the boat and call out for help,’’ said Chang, adding that a boat that was passing by had contacted the relevant authorities.
Selangor MMEA director Captain Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh said Chang saved himself by remaining afloat.
Captain Abdul Muhaimin also said that the remains of Darren, Cheu and Fong were found in the boat while Gan and Man were nowhere to be seen.
“It is believed they were thrown off the boat when it capsized,’’ said Captain Abdul Muhaimin.
According to him, the boat was being taken for a test drive when tragedy struck.
“A review of the incident indicated that one of the missing victims was test driving the boat which had just undergone some repairs,’’ he said.
A woman who only wanted to be known as Hung said she was the boat owner’s widow and claimed the boat was not facing any issues.
She said the first test drive had gone very smoothly, and tragedy only struck during the second attempt on Friday.
Search and rescue operations were called off at 7pm yesterday and will resume at 7am today.
“The search will continue until both the missing persons are found,” said Captain Abdul Muhaimin.
He said in drowning cases, the remains will be submerged and will move in the direction of the currents.
He advised everyone to be cautious when setting out to sail by adhering to all the set requirements.
“The use of safety jackets, monitoring of current weather conditions and expertise in handling boats are the basic things that have to be given serious consideration,” he said.
