SEMATAN: A jet ski belonging to a missing man near Talang Talang Besar Island was found yesterday with its owner nowhere to be seen.
The green-coloured personal watercraft was initially spotted floating at about 8.2 nautical miles northwest of Tanjung Sipang, Santubong by a fisherman, who promptly informed the rescue agencies around 5.30pm.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak director First Admiral (Maritime) Zin Azman Md Yunus said the jet ski was safely towed back to Pak Amit jetty, Santubong around 1.10am.
“The victim’s family confirmed that the jet ski belonged to their family member who was reported missing.
“Today’s search sector, which will be shifted to the Santubong area, has been expanded to an area of 356.38 square nautical miles, including the search along the coast of Trombol to the waters of Tanjung Sipang,” he said.
A search and rescue (SAR) forward base has been set up at the Sarawak Marine Fisheries Department Jetty, Santubong.
As at press time, the victim is yet to be found.
He stated that the operation involved marine and air assets from the agency, police, Police Air Unit (PGU), Marine Police Force, Fire and Rescue Department, the Civil Defence Force (APM) and Sarawak Coast Guard (SCG).
Aside from that, volunteers from the Sarawak Fishing Community Association, public boats and a group of jet skis from Kuching are also assisting in the search around the coast of Santubong waters.
On Friday night (Sept 16), 46-year-old Lee Chong Loong was reported missing by his friend around 10.15pm after a jet ski test run turned tragic that day.
Both of them were reported to have left Pak Amit jetty towards Satang Island for the test run as well as to conduct fishing in the area.
According to the victim’s friend, they decided to continue their journey towards Telok Melano and Talang Talang Besar Island due to good weather conditions.
The friend realised that the victim was nowhere behind him and turned back to Talang Talang Besar Island to look for the victim, but to no avail.
As a reminder to the maritime community, Zin urged the community to ensure their boats are in good condition and cancel any intention to go to sea in case of bad weather, and if necessary, always prioritise safety by wearing a life jacket and carrying a personnel locator beacon device to facilitate the rescue teams directly to emergency location.
