KOTA KINABALU: A boat crewman went missing while four others were seriously injured when two passenger boats collided in waters off Semporna, early Friday (Jan 9).
The incident occurred not too far from the Semporna Tourist Jetty, involving a boat with five passengers and a boatsman and another vessel with two crew members.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) zone director for Semporna, maritime commander Amir Shubli, said they received an emergency alert at around 11.30am, and a team was dispatched to respond.
“Based on initial investigation, the first boat with six people on board was badly damaged from the collision.
“Four passengers and a crewman on this boat were injured while another crew member, Rosman Kandau, 24, was reported missing,” he said.
Amir said the two people in the other boat escaped unhurt.
A search and rescue operation was activated at 1.50pm, he said, adding that the MMEA and marine police were involved in this search.
The search is confined to a three-nautical-mile radius from the scene as of now, he said.
He added that those with information on this case or the missing victim are urged to reach out at the emergency number 999 or the Semporna maritime operations centre at 014-7870624.
