KUCHING – An overloaded passenger boat carrying motorcycles and twenty people, including school children, moving across the Sg Sarawak river near state capital Kuching sank after suffering a leak.
Fortunately, all the people on board survived and managed to swim to safety in the incident that happened at around 7am today.
The site of the incident was the river section at Kampung Semilang near the Demak Laut Industrial Park at the mouth of Sg Sarawak, about 20km in the outskirts of Kuching city.
The Fire and Rescue Department confirmed that the boat was carrying twenty people and six motorcycles from Kampung Semilang. They were headed to the industrial park on the other side of the river when the boat sank.
"All on board managed to swim to the river bank safely without any injuries," the department said.
Demak Laut state assemblyman Dr Hazland Abang Hipni told local reporters that the boat suffered a leak while in the river.
"The boat was said to be overloaded," he said. "Luckily all on board swam ashore safely as the river current was not turbulent."
The survivors have been taken to their homes safely after being found shaken but unharmed, he said.
The state authorities are in the process of building a proper jetty in the area to cater to locals who need to cross the river to the other side, he added. – The Vibes, October 13, 2023
