KUCHING – A body recovered off Pulau Satang Besar here has been identified as being that of missing first mate Awang Omar Awang Hamsawi.
He was a crew member of a fishing vessel that capsized near Pulau Satang Besar in Telaga Air on Saturday.
Sarawak Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency director Zin Azman Md Yunus said the 59-year-old victim’s body was found floating 3.7 nautical miles north from where the boat sank, by a fishing crew at 4.22pm yesterday.
He said the remains were brought ashore by a search-and-rescue (SAR) team, and have been handed over to police.
The identification of the body was carried out at Sarawak General Hospital here by police’s forensic team, with help from the victim’s next of kin.
“The victim’s identity card was also found on the body,” said Zin Azman.
According to the SAR team earlier, the body was found by a fishing crew in an area known as “Tukun Kapal Jepun”, about six nautical miles from Pulau Satang Besar.
In the Saturday incident, a boat carrying 10 people, including eight anglers, capsized 21 nautical miles off Pulau Satang Besar near Telaga Air.
The skipper and anglers, hailing from the peninsula, were found alive by fishermen early the following day.
Meanwhile, the SAR team is continuing the search for another group of anglers who went missing in a boating incident on Sunday in the same Telaga Air area.
They are Khamizan Saidi, 40 (skipper); Ng Ching Hui, 36; Christopher Teo, 32; Yap Tze Kang, 41; and, Leo Dy Lee Jiann Tarn, 35.
The multi-agency SAR operation was suspended at 6pm yesterday, and resumed this morning. – The Vibes, October 7, 2021
