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SANDAKAN – Hanging on a lifebuoy in rough seas for seven hours, Asman Mohamad used all the strength left in his body to stay awake. He finally reached shore, to become the second survivor of a tugboat accident near Kinabatangan River on Wednesday (January 13).
Asman, 31, chief engineer of a marine transportation company here, was on the Ever Winner tugboat that was towing an empty barge.
At about 4am on Wednesday, the tugboat that he was in was met with rough seas, high waves, and strong winds. He was on deck when the situation became uncontrollable.
While struggling to balance in the slanted boat, he managed to grab onto a lifebuoy before he was thrown into the sea.
The tugboat capsized; in it were three men, including Asman’s father who was captain of the boat, and two crewmen.
The Maritime Enforcement Agency and other relevant agencies are still conducting search and rescue (SAR) operations to locate the three remaining victims.
Asman witnessed the incident while floating on the lifebuoy. He shouted for his father and the two crewmen, but none responded. Eventually, he gave up and let the waves take him.
“At the time, I just tried to stay awake and afloat, and let the wave take me. I did not know where I was going. The sea was rough, it was dark, and it was raining heavily. I was at sea for about seven hours before I was washed to the shore,” he said.
As for the first survivor, Asman’s uncle, Roslie Antala, 48, was lucky to be on the barge at the time of the incident. Somehow, the rope connecting the barge and the tugboat broke, releasing the barge with Roslie on it to float away before it got stuck near shore.
The three remaining victims are: Mohamad Mal, 49 (captain), and two crewmen Mohd Hafiz Isyra Nagrah, 22, and Azlan Hassan, 23.
Upon reaching land, Asman said he walked for several hours before he saw the barge stranded at sea, with his uncle Roslie on it. However, he could not reach the barge as it was too far away.
Asman was stranded on shore for more than 12 hours, but he miraculously found a life raft floating near him, which had emergency food and water.
Roslie called for help from his company, and the Maritime Enforcement Agency personnel then reached to rescue him and Asman at about 5pm the same day.
The deputy operational director of Sandakan Zone Maritime, Commander Ahmad Firdaus Shaari said that SAR operations are still ongoing for the third day today, with nine assets.
“We are working with a company to retrieve the sunken tugboat, the victims are believed to be inside,” he said.
Also involved in the SAR operation are the police, a joint task-force, the navy, the fire and rescue department, and civil defence force.
The tugboat was on its way from Kinabatangan River to Sandakan but was met with bad weather. They had decided to turn back, but the accident happened about three miles before they reached the river.
Meanwhile, Sandakan MP Vivian Wong questioned the tugboat company for not showing responsibility for the accident.
During a press conference the two survivors conducted in the Sandakan Maritime Enforcement Agency’s jetty today, family members of all victims were also present.
“But we do not see any representative of the company here. They should be more responsible; at least be here to speak to the victim’s family members. They are not even responsive to our calls,” Wong said.
The company had informed family members of the victims about the accident 12 hours after it happened.
It was learned that Roslie had called the company for help when the accident happened. But the company lodged a police report instead of calling the emergency hotline of Malaysian Emergency Response Services at MERS999.
Perhaps the three remaining victims could have been rescued sooner if Roslie or his company had contacted MERS999 immediately.
Sources said that the tugboat company is based in Batu Sapi here. – The Vibes, January 15, 2021.
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