GOF personnel missing after boats collide
A 40-year-old General Operations Force (GOF) personnel was reported missing after a passenger boat with 37 people, including 28 secondary school students, collided with another boat that was being towed near Kampung Tanjung Aru waters in Sandakan yesterday morning.
A 40-year-old General Operations Force (GOF) personnel was reported missing after a passenger boat with 37 people, including 28 secondary school students, collided with another boat that was being towed near Kampung Tanjung Aru waters here yesterday morning.
Asman Ongkal, who was in the passenger boat, went missing after he was said to be trying to save some of the victms who were struggling in the water.
According to early report from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Sandakan Zone, a total of 15 victims were sent to Hospital Duchess of Kent for medical treatment, and three of them are reported to be in the red zone (critical), including the boat operator and two students.
Asman’s wife and other family members are currently waiting at the Sandakan Central Market jetty for the outcome of a search and rescue (SAR) operation being carried out.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) spokesman Sandakan Zone Lieutenant Commander Mohd Hafidz Mohd Tajuddin said early investigation revealed that the passenger boat had hit a boat that was being towed.
“A big boat was towing a smaller boat. The incident happened around 6am and it was still dark. The smaller boat did not have its light on, so the passenger boat has hit the smaller boat that was being towed by the tow boat,” he explained.
Search and Rescue Operation (SAR), involving 12 assets as well as personnel from Maritime Enforcement Agency, Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defense Force, Sandakan Marine Police, Sandakan Headquarter Police Station, General Operations Force and Sandakan Municipal Council, searching for Asman is still ongoing.
The SAR involves two miles radius from the scene, which is about two miles from Sandakan Central Market Jetty.
The students who were involved in the accident are from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sandakan, SMK Tiong Hua, and SMK Datuk Pangiran Galpam.
Eighteen of the passengers are male and 19 are female. No child was involved in the incident.
Sandakan district police Chief, ACP Mohd Azhar Hamin noted that the cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Meanwhile, Sandakan member of parliament, Vivian Wong Shir Yee has visited the victims at the hospital before she visited the victims who were still at the jetty.
She said that many victims had told her that they were saved by Asman.
“I am deeply saddened by the incident. The victim (Asman) has risked his life to save the others, and now he is still missing. I know that the personnel involved in the SAR are trying their best; I hope that Asman would be found as soon as possible,” she said.
Wong said that while the cause of the accident was still under investigation, she would look into the possibility that the passenger boat was overloaded.
“If the investigation finds that the boat was overloaded, I will talk to the MPS (Sandakan Municipal Council) Enforcement Unit to act on this issue immediately,” she stressed.