KUCHING, Oct 2— A boat carrying 10 anglers was believed to have capsized some 21 nautical miles off Pulau Satang Besar, Telaga Air earlier today, said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
When contacted, MMEA said that a search-and-rescue (SAR) team had been sent to the boat’s last known location at 12.22pm.
As of 3.30pm, a command centre has been set up at the Telaga Air jetty by the maritime community made up of different agencies to aid in the operation.
Also present were the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), police and the Malaysian Civil Defence Force.
It was understood that the boat’s skipper and first mate are two locals while the anglers aged between 30 and 54 years-old are from West Malaysia.
Met by reporters at the Bomba command centre was Awang Ali, 62, the brother of the missing first mate Awang Umar, 59-year-old.
“The last time I contacted my brother was this morning. Usually he would already be contacting the family to show his catch,” said Awang Ali.
Awang Ali showing reporters the photo that was sent to him by his brother before they were reported missing. – Photo by Jeremy Lanson
He also said his missing brother’s car and the vehicle that was used by the eight anglers are still parked near the jetty where the boat had berthed this morning.
As of time of writing, rescuers were still searching for all the missing anglers. — Borneo Post Online
