KOTA KINABALU: The search and rescue operation for two Chinese tourists in waters off Mantanani Island off Kota Belud has been called off after a seven-day search was called off Sunday (Oct 12).
Kota Belud OCPD Supt Shahrudin Mat Husain said the operations were officially terminated at 10am Sunday (Oct 12).
However, he said the sea patrols and surveillance would continue along Sabah’s western coastline along the South China Sea and up to the northern Kudat’s Sulu Sea to detect any fresh leads.
He said the decision to end the operation was made after a thorough assessment of all search areas covering a wide radius around Mantanani waters yielded no signs of the two tourists.
The two, identified as a man, Yu Xiapeng, 25 and a woman, Fan Qin, 28, were reported missing after failing to be located at the end of their stay at Sutera Mantanani Resort on Mantanani Island on Oct 5.
“Throughout the seven-day operation, bad weather and high waves slightly hampered the team's efforts. However, even though the official operation is over, we continue to monitor,” he said.
The operations involved 95 personnel members from various agencies, including police, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Fire and Rescue Department, Marine Police, Civil Defence Force and also as deployment of drones.
Local villagers and resort operators were also involved in the search.
Supt Shahrudin urged boat operators and fishermen along the western coast up to the northern part of the state to immediately contact the nearest police station if they have any information regarding the two missing tourists.
“We still hope for positive developments from ongoing patrols and monitoring,” he added.
