GEORGE TOWN, Dec 23 — Two fishermen who were reported missing after their bot drifted in the waters off Kerachut, Kuala Sungai Pinang near here a week ago described the ordeal as like being dead before they were found in the waters of Aceh, Indonesia, yesterday.

Muhammad Ikmal Hakimi Ismail, 22, and Nor Hasrul Abdullah, 25, said they kept praying during the six days drifting in the wide open seas.

According to Muhammad Ikmal, he and Nor Hasrul went out to sea at 3 pm on Monday and he was starting the boat’s engine when the rope to the boat engine snapped and the engine stalled.

By then, he said, the waves and storm got stronger, but he managed to call his employer, who is also the boat owner and was told that help would be sent.

"By midnight no help arrived. At that time, the waves and the storm were getting stronger and the boat was swept away by the waves. I then called my family to inform them of the incident and continued to wait for help.

"Still no help came, even when we shouted and used torchlights. By then, the cell phone had run out of battery. We could not contact anyone to ask for help, but still believed we would be safe because we could still see the hills in Teluk Bahang.

"On the third day, we ran out of food and started eating raw fish, making us vomit several times, but had to eat the raw fish. Otherwise, we would have no energy.

"By then, we couldn’t see the hills anymore and I and Hasrul started fighting with each other until we fell into the sea several times. Alhamdulillah, we were in life jackets,” he told reporters after arriving from Aceh at the Batu Maung Jetty, near here today.

Muhammad Ikmal said their ordeal ended on the sixth day when their boat was spotted by local fishermen from Aceh who went to their rescue.

Meanwhile, Nor Hasrul said the incident traumatised him, but it would not stop him from going out to the sea again to fish.

"I have been going to the sea for a year and six months now. What happened was the first. We are used to facing huge waves and storms, but never as bad as this. We will be more careful after this,” he said, adding that their fishing trip was normally for only four hours and then they would return to land.

Parents, family members and relatives of the two fishermen were at the jetty waiting for their arrival. — Bernama