SEMPORNA: A 46-year-old local skipper swam for six hours to Pulau Mantabuan to seek help after his boat carrying 11 passengers capsized on Sunday.
Lahad Datu District Police Chief Supt Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said the wooden boat hit a floating log, resulting in a hole in the vessel, in the incident that occurred between 4.30pm and 6pm in the waters of Pulau Mantabuan.
He added that the skipper and passengers had earlier tied empty oil drums around the boat to prevent it from sinking before the skipper swam to request assistance from the authorities stationed on the island.
The wooden boat that sank after it was hit by a floating log.
“The Malaysian Armed Forces immediately launched a rescue operation,” he said, Monday.
He said the passengers comprised nine men, two women and a boy aged between three and 79.
Four men among them were found to be illegal immigrants, while the others possessed documents, he added.
The skipper was arrested under Section 280 of the Penal Code for navigating a vessel in a rash or negligent manner, while the four undocumented passengers were detained under Section 6(1)(C) of the Immigration Act 1963 and the others were released after their statements were recorded.
Mohd Farhan Lee urged all boat skippers to comply with the set safety regulations to avoid any untoward incidents.
