ALOR SETAR, Oct 24 — The ferry carrying over 500 passengers and crew members that was stranded at around 3pm while on its way to Langkawi from Kuala Kedah has been safely towed to the Kuala Kedah Ferry Jetty tonight.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Kuala Kedah Maritime Zone director Cmdr (Maritime) Noor Azreyanti Ishak said the ferry was towed back by a tow boat owned by a cargo company in Kuala Kedah at 9.25pm and that all onboard were safe.

Three passengers were sent to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital here for further observation as one of them had a nervous disorder while two suffered breathing difficulties.

"A total of 272 passengers were brought off in stages by the MMEA PERKASA 1224 boat, a police PSC 19 patrol boat with assistance from several local fishing boats around Kuala Kedah and Yan, while the rest of the passengers onboard were towed in,” she said in a statement tonight.

The MMEA Kuala Kedah Maritime Zone had received a report from the Marine Department about an Express Bahagia 98 passenger ferry with 547 people being stranded at 1.2 nautical miles off the Kuala Kedah estuary at 4.15pm. — Bernama