LANGKAWI – Fishermen aboard a trawler found something other than the fish they were seeking out last night when they stumbled upon the 18 crew members and passengers drifting in their life jackets from the sunken Empayar Langkawi fishing vessel here.
They were apparently found floating in the open seas near their last known location at Pulau Beras Basah, which is about six nautical miles from Langkawi.
A shipping agent with the vessel confirmed this, saying that the 18 crew members and passengers were brought to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) base here to facilitate investigations into what had happened earlier.
The anglers were given food and dry clothes by the MMEA personnel after they were found about 8pm tonight, some eight hours after a distress call was placed.
Earlier, a search and rescue (SAR) maritime task force was launched to locate the 18 crew members and passengers after their vessel was believed to have gone down due to a combination of strong winds and waves.
The task force – with assets from the MMEA, marine police, the Marine Services Department, and the fishing community – were deployed amidst rough weather.
KM Tenggol, the task force’s lead ship, has arrived at the last location where the distress signal was placed by the vessel’s captain, but encountered poor visibility conditions.
Marine police received a distress call earlier around 2pm that the vessel, which is usually chartered by anglers, was being quickly inundated by water and they required assistance.
This fishing expedition is believed to be chartered by anglers from Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
KM Tenggol was later joined by a flotilla of other patrol crafts and vessels to comb the area, while aerial surveillance was also radioed in.
It was fortunate that the anglers and crew were found as the weather had reportedly worsened with stronger winds and waves. – The Vibes, February 27, 2022
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