Seven anglers float for four hours after boat sinks off Santubong

KUCHING: Seven anglers were left adrift at sea for nearly four hours after their boat sank off the northern coast of Tanjung Po in Santubong yesterday afternoon.
A leak is believed to have caused the boat to capsize around 11am.
All seven men, who were wearing life jackets, floated in the open sea before being rescued by a passing merchant vessel at about 3.30pm.
Sarawak Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director First Admiral Mohd Khairi Abd Aziz said the Kuching Maritime Rescue Sub Centre was alerted to the incident at 4.45pm by the Kuching Port Authority.
"The alert came after the merchant vessel MTT Lumut sent a distress signal via radio at 4.23pm, reporting a sunken fishing boat about 10 nautical miles north of Tanjung Po," he said in a statement today.
He added that the seven victims were rescued by another merchant vessel, MTT Rajang, which happened to be nearby.
Following the alert, MMEA deployed its KILAT 35 vessel to meet up with MTT Rajang and bring the anglers safely back to shore.
"They were unharmed and arrived at the Tun Abang Salahuddin Maritime Complex jetty at 7.08pm," he said.

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KUCHING: Seven anglers were left adrift at sea for nearly four hours after their boat sank off the northern coast of Tanjung Po in Santubong yesterday afternoon. A leak is believed to have caused the boat to capsize around 11am. All seven men, who were wearing life jackets, floated in the open sea before being rescued by a passing merchant vessel at about 3.30pm. Sarawak Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director First Admiral Mohd Khairi Abd Aziz said the Kuching Maritime Rescue Sub Centre was alerted to the incident at 4.45pm by the Kuching Port Authority. "The alert came after the merchant vessel MTT Lumut sent a distress signal via radio at 4.23pm, reporting a sunken fishing boat about 10 nautical miles north of Tanjung Po," he said in a statement today. He added that the seven victims were rescued by another merchant vessel, MTT Rajang, which happened to be nearby. Following the alert, MMEA deployed its KILAT 35 vessel to meet up with MTT Rajang and bring the anglers safely back to shore. "They were unharmed and arrived at the Tun Abang Salahuddin Maritime Complex jetty at 7.08pm," he said.