MMEA Rescues Two Adrift At Sea After Boat Capsize Incident

TAWAU (Sabah, Malaysia) April 24 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) today rescued two men who were found floating at sea after their boat capsized off Sungai Pukul, Sebatik Island near here yesterday. Tawau Maritime Zone director Maritime Captain V. Siva Kumar said the victims aged 35 and 40 were rescued at 5 pm when MMEA personnel spotted the men’s boat while they were conducting operations against illegal immigrants. "Upon checking, MMEA found one local man and another Indonesian adrift near the sinking boat at about one nautical mile northwest of Sungai Pukul. The men had been caught in rough sea conditions and bad weather. "The victims had been adrift for about 15 minutes before they were rescued by the MMEA patrol team,” he said in a statement here. According to Siva Kumar, the victims left Log Pond jetty in Tanjung Batu and were heading towards Sungai Melayu jetty when their boat suffered an engine failure, while the portable water pump had also stopped functioning. The victims, who were unharmed, were later taken ashore at 8.30 pm. He advised the public to call MERS 999 or the Tawau Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 089-752115 in case of an emergency or to report any suspicious activity at sea. -- BERNAMA