BINTULU: Search and rescue (SAR) personnel found no new leads on the third day of the operation yesterday (July 4) for an Indian crewman reported missing in Samalaju waters last Saturday.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Bintulu director Captain Mohd Khairol Anuar Saad in a brief update via WhatsApp, said the search focused around Samalaju waters, covered an area of 287 nautical square miles.
“The search at sea covered an area of 108.80 square miles by the agency’s KM Setia while, the search by air covered an area of 178.20 square miles by the Fire and Rescue Department’s MI171 helicopter.
“Overall, the total search area from the first two days of operation has covered 623.19 nautical square miles.
“The weather conditions were reported to be good with wind speeds from 10 to 20km per hour and waves around 0.5 to 1m high,” he said.
A total of 55 rescuers from the agency, police, Marine Police, Fire and Rescue Department and Sarawak Marine Department, are involved in the search for Himanshu Kumar with maritime and aerial assets.
The search operation was launched last Saturday locate the victim who had gone missing after a tanker ship capsized in the wee hours of Saturday, around 40.2 nautical miles northwest of Bintulu.
Three crew members comprising of two locals including the skipper and one Indian national managed to get on the life raft, however, another crew member drifted away.
The three victims were later rescued by a nearby boat.
According to the survivors, their ship was hit by a storm while anchored in the waters of Samalaju thus, causing it to sink.
