KUANTAN, Aug 6 — A skipper was reported missing while two crew members were rescued after the local fishing boat they were on capsized about 26.8 nautical miles off the waters of Kuala Pahang.

Pahang MMEA director First Maritime Admiral Kamal Ariffin Jusoh said there were claims that the incident occurred at 2am on Thursday (Aug 3), however, the agency was informed about the incident yesterday evening.

The missing victim was identified as Mat Riffin Awang Kecik, 66, while the two survivors were Sabudin Panoh, 51, and Mohd Hafizi Awang Kecik, 30, all Thai nationals.

"According to the survivors, their boat capsized after being hit by waves but they managed to cling to the oil barrel before being rescued by a fishing boat at 9 am on the same day, about 14 nautical miles from the incident site.

"The missing victim was reported to be on the deck during the incident and the two crew members were unsure whether the victim had time to jump or not before the boat completely submerged,” he said in a statement here today.

Kamal Ariffin said that all the victims were not wearing life jackets when the incident occurred.

The search and rescue (SAR) operation was activated at 3.10pm yesterday after the Kuantan Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) received a report from the Pekan district police headquarters (IPD).

Assisted by local fishing boats, today’s operation continues involving a search sector area of approximately 22.95 square nautical miles with monitoring around the location of the capsized boat.

Those with information on the incident are asked to contact the Pahang Maritime Operations Centre at 09-571 7345 or via the MERS emergency helpline 999. — Bernama