ANGLERS, CREW MEMBERS ON BOAT THAT CAPSIZED OFF LANGKAWI WATERS FOUND SAFE

ALOR SETAR, Feb 27 -- All 14 anglers and four crew members onboard a boat that went missing off Langkawi waters yesterday have been found safe.

Kedah and Perlis Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director First Maritime Admiral Mohd Zawawi Abdullah said the 18 of them were rescued by local fishermen at about 3 pm.

 According to earlier reports, their boat was believed to have capsized at about 2 pm. 

“Alhamdulillah, all 18 of them were rescued at about 3 pm some 10 nautical miles west off Pulau Singa Besar. 

“The Tenggol Maritime vessel and Rescue Boat 5 that were around the location of the incident later transported them back to the MMEA jetty in Bukit Malut, Langkawi,” he told a media conference early today. 

He said two of the anglers suffered injuries, one with a suspected broken leg while the other injured his hand.

“The rest are fine. However, all of them will undergo a medical examination as well,” he added.

He advised those with plans for sea activity to get prior updates on weather conditions and to ensure safety and communications equipment are adequate before venturing out to sea.

Meanwhile, the actual skipper of the boat, Syed M Hidayat Syed Mohd Bakhir, 33, shared that he learnt that everyone on the boat was safe when he managed to contact one of the crew members later in the evening.

Syed M Hidayat had not joined the excursion and was replaced by another skipper.

"I managed to reach a crew member and he told me all of them were safe after being afloat at sea for six hours after their boat were hit by big waves at around 2 pm.

"They were all rescued by a fishing vessel in the area,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

-- BERNAMA