MMEA intensifies efforts to locate missing fishermen

ALOR STAR: Following the discovery of oil spills in an area about two nautical miles off Pulau Payar, Langkawi, a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) search and rescue (SAR) team is focusing its efforts to locate a trawler fishing boat which is believed to have capsized on March 12.
The boat's skipper and two crewmen are feared drowned in the incident.
Maritime District (I) operations deputy director, Nurulazme Zakariah said the oil spills were likely from the missing trawler, which has been out at sea to fish since March 7.
He said eight divers from the MMEA were tasked with locating the boat, missing skipper and crewmen using remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs).
"MMEA vessel KM Burau with the divers were dispatched from Maritime District 2, Penang, while rescue boat from Maritime District 1 left the Bukit Jalut MMEA jetty, Langkawi, this morning," he said in a statement today.
He said 22 members of KM Burau and six members of the rescue boat were involved in the search and rescue operation to locate the missing fishermen and the trawler.
The media previously reported that skipper Harif Fadelah Zainol, 58, and crewmen Abd Ghani Jusoh, 56, and Mohd Azrul Mohd Hassan, 24, were feared drowned after their trawler was believed to have capsized in the waters off the island.
MMEA received a report on the incident at 8.20am, on March 15 from the boat owner when the boat failed to return to the Kuala Kedah jetty on March 12 as scheduled. — Bernama