Catamaran: SAR meeting tomorrow to decide on next move

KOTA KINABALU: The agencies involved in the search and rescue (SAR) operation for missing victims of the catamaran boat tragedy will be meeting tomorrow to decide on the next move.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Kota Kinabalu director Maritime First Admiral Adam Aziz said this was because the mission would be entering its 10th day tomorrow.
"Following the meeting, MMEA will convey the outcome to MMEA's headquarters (in Putrajaya) on how long the mission will be continued.
"However, we're still hoping for miracles to happen because based on nature, with tomorrow already reaching the 10th day of the SAR mission, bodies might not be intact as the one found yesterday," he told a press conference here today.
Yesterday, the body of a woman, believed be of one of the six victims still missing in the catamaran tragedy, was found entangled in a trawler net by fishermen in Pulau Mengalum waters at 9.25am.
Adam said the SAR operation covering some 2,000 square nautical miles was now focusing on the area where the body of the woman was found.
Fifteen assets, 11 ships and boats and four aircraft, have been enlisted for the operation which also involves the waters of Sarawak and Brunei.
Adam said that 50 trawlers from fishermen's associations in Kota Kinabalu, Kudat and Labuan were also assisting in the search.
In the incident at 10am last Saturday, the catamaran which was carrying 28 tourists from China and three crew was believed to have capsized amidst strong winds and huge waves while heading to Pulau Mengalum, 56km northwest of Kota Kinabalu.
To date, 25 victims have been found including three who perished. — Bernama