Sunken tugboat engineer recounts his 7-hour ordeal at sea
Published on: Saturday, January 16, 2021
By: Mardinah Jikur
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Asman with his mother (centre) and Rosli (left) after arriving at the Sandakan MMEA jetty.
SANDAKAN: Tugboat chief engineer Asman Mohamad recalled how he managed to cling to a life buoy for seven hours before swimming to shore after their “Ever Winner” vessel capsized in choppy waters off Kuala Kinabatangan Besar, near here, early Wednesday.The 31-year-old and his uncle, Roslie Antala, 48, managed to swim to shore, while three others - boat captain Mohamad Mal, 49, and crewmen Mohd Hafiz Isyra Nagrah, 22, and Azlan Hassan, 23 - are still missing as at press time.
“Choppy waves hit our tugboat, causing it to tilt before capsizing shortly after we boarded. Our boat was hit by strong waves as we tried to turn back towards Kinabatangan,” said Asman.
They were heading towards Sandakan from Sungai Kinabatangan when bad weather struck. The tugboat was operated by four crew members, including the captain. It had been towing a barge called “Ever Eternity”, with one crew, from Kinabatangan to Sandakan at 4pm.
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