LABUAN: The body of a tugboat crew member believed to have fallen into the sea when the boat was anchored in the waters off Pulau Papan on Thursday was found at 7.45am on Friday.
The body was located 20 metres south of Labuan’s ferry jetty.
Labuan Maritime Zone Director, Captain Nudin Jusoh, said the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) in Kota Kinabalu activated the search and rescue operation about 9.40pm after receiving information related to the incident from the Maritime Operations Centre of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
He said the man was identified as Kenneth Anak Saing, 33, who worked on the local tugboat “Tanjung Biru 1” and was reported missing by a friend after he was last seen at 6pm.
SPONSORED CONTENT Shell’s Access to Energy helps power lives of isolated communities in Sabah Kota Kinabalu: In 2017, Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd (SSPC) launched Access to Energy (A2E), a Shell Social Investment programme aimed at providing affordable and continuous supply of electricity from renewable sources for communities who live without connection to the electricity grid. Read more “All his personal items were found on the tugboat which was said to have been anchored before continuing its journey to Miri, Sarawak,” he said in a statement, Friday.
Nudin said as soon as the search and rescue operation was activated, an MMEA patrol boat was dispatched to the scene.
“The operation involved assistance from assets and members of the Marine Police Force, Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department and the Civil Defence Force,” he said.
The victim’s body has been handed over to the forensics unit of the Royal Malaysian Police for further investigation.
The MMEA reminds the public to report any emergencies or accidents at sea to MERS 999 or the Labuan Maritime Zone operations centre at 087-427999.
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