PETALING JAYA: A grieving wife stated that repeated requests for life jackets were dismissed by the boatman shortly before a tragic accident that claimed the lives of her husband and young daughter in the boat capsize tragedy off Pulau Perhentian, Besut, Terengganu, on Sunday night.
“We asked for life jackets multiple times from the boat driver because it looked like it was going to rain and there were many small children with us, but he told us the jackets were wet and it was fine since the resort was nearby,” said A. Sanggetha.
Sanggetha, 39, lost her husband, S. Arumugam, 40, and their youngest daughter, A. Sarrvihka, 3.
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Recalling the terrifying moments, Sanggetha said she, her husband, and their two children had dinner at Pulau Perhentian Kecil with some of her husband’s close friends and their families — 15 people from four families in total.
“After dinner, we saw that it was about to rain, so we decided to head back to our resort on Pulau Perhentian Besar around 9pm, using the same boat we came in,” she told Harian Metro.
“Onboard, my husband and his friends asked the boatman for life jackets, but he said they were wet and insisted the ride would only take 10 to 15 minutes. But on the way back, it started raining heavily, it was very dark, and the boat became unstable.”
“I held onto our elder daughter tightly while my husband held our youngest. Then a huge wave hit and capsized the boat,” she said at her home in Taman Bayu Aman.
She said she managed to escape the overturned boat by pulling her nine-year-old daughter’s hand, and both of them were rescued by a man who witnessed the incident nearby.
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“We were actually very close to the boat parking area — we could already see the resort lights — but the sea was rough,” she added. “I had been separated from my husband, my youngest child, and my husband’s friends. Only my eldest was with me, and a man saved us both.”
She said she couldn’t swim but tried her best to float.
The private company executive added that after being rescued, she and her daughter were taken to a nearby clinic for treatment before she borrowed a phone to contact her husband’s friends.
“They told me my husband and daughter had died, along with another child who was the son of my husband’s friend,” she said. “Right now, I can’t think clearly because it all happened so fast. I just hope this never happens to anyone else.”
“All I can do now is accept the reality and stay strong for my only surviving daughter,” she said.
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According to Sanggetha, it was their first family trip to Pulau Perhentian, planned with her husband’s friends to celebrate their 40th birthdays.
“Everyone was happy — they were all very close friends since school — I never imagined such a tragedy would happen,” she said.
The accident occurred around 10.30pm on Sunday, when the boat carrying 15 people aged between 3 and 40 was hit by large waves while traveling from Pulau Perhentian Kecil to Pulau Perhentian Besar.
Three people died, and one remains in critical condition in the ICU at Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah (HSNZ).
