Search Continues For Missing Tourists, Crew In Catamaran Capsize

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia) Jan 31 (Bernama) -- The area of the search for the missing Chinese tourists and a crew of a catamaran that capsized off Sabah last Saturday has been extended to 3,000 sq nautical miles. Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Kota Kinabalu director First Admiral (Maritime) Adam Aziz said Tuesday five ships, seven boats and eight aircraft of the Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, MMEA, Royal Malaysian Police and Brunei Darussalam were engaged in the search. He said Brunei, which had deployed a helicopter and a ship, confined its search to that country's waters. "Into the fourth day of the search, we are into the golden hour of finding those missing. We will continue the operation and step up the search efforts," he said to reporters here. Adam said the search was being conducted in an area 30 nautical miles north of Labuan Island in a westerly direction and the area had been divided into sectors according to the air and naval assets in use. He said the ships and boats remained overnight in the area of search while the aircraft left base at 6am Tuesday. On the possibility of finding the missing people alive, Adam said people with physical resilience could survive in the sea for days and that the MMEA had rescued people even 10 days after they had gone missing. On the confusion over whether five or six people were missing, he said the police were conducting an investigation and MMEA was awaiting the outcome. He said the confusion arose after the boat operator gave different manifests. The catamaran, carrying 28 Chinese tourists and three crew, capsized after being hit by strong winds and high waves at about 10am on Saturday as it travelled from the Tanjung Aru jetty here to Pulau Mengalum, 56km northwest of Kota Kinabalu. Twenty tourists and two crew were rescued, three tourists were found dead and five tourists and a crew are missing. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA