SANDAKAN – Seven people were rescued by the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) when a cargo ship they were in sank yesterday after being hit by strong waves in Terumbu Segama waters, 67 nautical miles off Sandakan.
The RMN’s Naval Area Two ship, KD Sri Gaya, rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call from the captain of the ship at 5.46pm.
Naval Area Two Commander Rear Admiral Rusli Ahmad said KD Sri Gaya reached the location at 6.40pm and found the ship about 70% under water and its seven crew members aboard a life raft.
“We had an intense moment during the rescue as the sea was really rough; waves were high. But we managed to rescue all seven victims. No lives were lost,” he said.
The cargo ship, named Mermaid Challenger, was carrying four containers from Sandakan to the Malaysia-Philippines border when the incident occurred.
The seven survivors are Billy Odong, 50; Sadani Abdullah, 52; Mustafa Bidin, 33; Mohd Akin Mandu, 41; Mohammad Shariel Thomas Jalong, 18; Thomas Jalong Njau, 57; and, Norhamri Abdul Satar, 61.
Rusli said he is grateful that the navy managed to save all the victims.
“The timing was just right... If the navy ship had reached a few minutes later, it would have been too dark and the rescue would have been more difficult. The captain of the ship did the right thing by calling for help. If not, we could have ended up like the (victims of) tugboat accidents,” he said, referring to the incidents last week, in which five victims are still missing at sea.
The survivors reached Sandakan at 8am today and were taken to Duchess of Kent Hospital. – The Vibes, January 18, 2021
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