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2017 Mengalum boat mishap

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Mengalum boat mishap
Date28 January 2017 (2017-01-28)
LocationSouth China Sea (off Mengalum Island, Sabah, Malaysia)
TypeBoat sinking
CauseUnder investigation
OutcomeSinking of the catamaran boat
Deaths3
Convicted3
Passengers and crew30

The Mengalum boat mishap is occurred on 28 January 2017, when a catamaran passenger ferry sank in the South China Sea off Mengalum Island in Sabah, Malaysia. The boat was carrying 27 Chinese tourists, of which 22 (including two boat crewmen) were rescued, three died while another five (including one boat crewman) are missing.[1][2][3]

Background[edit]

The boat left Sabah's capital, Kota Kinabalu on the morning of 28 January to Mengalum Island (an island located around 60 kilometres (38 miles) west of the city.[4][5] The island is known as a favourite destination for Chinese tourists especially for Chinese New Year.[6][7] Due to the rough sea condition at the time, the boat was reported missing about 12 hours later with the Sabah local police said there are 27 Chinese tourists with three crew members,[2] rather than 28 tourists as disclosed earlier as one passenger cancelling his trip in the last minute.[8][9][10] Due to an error of duplicate name in the passenger list, the identity of two duplicate names is identified as a woman and a child and were part of the Chinese tourists group. Both have entering the boat without registering their identities.[11]

The boat captain and one crew member were rescued by another tourist boat on 29 January afternoon after they floating in the sea for a day. While a fishermen boat found the 20 Chinese tourists along with the three that are confirmed dead some hours later, comprising two men and a woman.[12] All survivors were sunburned and dehydrated.[13] Local authorities said the Chinese tourists survivors has been adrift in the sea for 10–30 hours but did not giving any explanation for the cause of the tragedy.[2] The official later explain that the boat went down after being hit by heavy waves and the tourists were swept away by the current. According to one survivor, Fan Li Xia, she and other passengers held onto the body of a dead friend for as long as they could while treading water.[13] She recount:

The tourists, who had life jackets on, were swept away by the current and struggled in the cold water for more than 30 hours. If we were found any later, I don't think I would have survived. My friend died. We dragged his body around for half a day, but we couldn't manage any more so we had to let it go.[13]

— Fan Li Xia, one of the Catamaran mishap survivor.

Another female survivor, Yang Yao Ru recount they shared the little food they had and urged everyone to stay alive. Telling the other survivors huddled together to try to shake off the cold and did not loosen their grip.[13] She also added that if she died at the time, her mother also wouldn't have survived by herself, which increase her hope to stay alive to bring her mother home safely.[13] Most of the survivors are treated in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu and were traumatised over the incident with counsellors and psychiatrists have been appointed to help them. The authorities also explained to media that the chance to get the remaining missing victims alive are decreasing as the life vests they wearing cannot last up to six days in addition to the extreme cold and heat in the sea. [14]

Passengers and crew[edit]

The identities of the passenger and crews are as follows:[1][3][10][11][15]
 • Keynotes: † (deceased), ‡ (missing)

Name (Age – Gender) Notes
China Chinese nationals
  1. Cao Dong Tue (? – female)
  2. Chen Xi (11 – female)
  3. Chen Xin Jian (23 – female)
  4. Dong Mei (? – female) ‡
  5. Fan Li Xia (40 – female)
  6. Guo Shun Ke (48 – male)
  7. He Run Yuan (46 – female) †
  8. He Zi Hao (20 – female)
  9. He Hai Min (22 – male)
  10. Li Feng (39 – female)
  11. Liu Fei Tong (32 – male)
  12. Liu Jin Can (31 – male)
  13. Liu Juan (32 – female)
  14. Unidentified woman passenger (30s – female) ‡
  15. Unidentified child passenger (10 – ?) ‡
  16. Luo Hong Yuan (51 – male) ‡
  17. Shen Hao Tian (17 – male)
  18. Sheng Jiang Jiang (50 – male) ‡
  19. Tan Ting (31 – female)
  20. Wang Xian Zhang (48 – female)
  21. Wei Yin (? – male)
  22. Xie Luo (48 – male) †
  23. Yan Si Yi (17 – female)
  24. Yan Yan Xin (50 – male)
  25. Yang Yao Ru (24 – female)
  26. Zeng Cui Can (55 – male)
  27. Zhang Xiao Kun (? – male) †
Tourist
Malaysia Malaysian nationals
  1. Absoy Kasim (26 – male) ‡
  2. Sharizal Salian (26 – male)
Crewmen
Philippines Philippine national
  1. Aman Abdul (38 – male)
Crewmen (holder of IMM13 immigration document)[note 1]

Search & rescue operations[edit]

Two of the surviving crews were found in the waters between the island of Tiga and an offshore oil drilling platform.[9] 22 tourists were subsequently rescued by local fishermen, with three victims confirmed as dead.[17] Most of the victims are found in weak conditions with they being huddling together in rough waters in their life vests and forming human chains.[2] All rescued victims are sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu for further treatment.[18] The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the search area has been expanded by about four times from 1,500 to 2,400 square nautical miles of the South China Sea off the Sabah state to find the remaining victims.[2][6][19][20]

A Brunei oil company of Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd (BSP) and Chinese authorities also participated in the search.[21][22] Brunei company focusing the search on its maritime baselines while Malaysian and Chinese authorities in the waters of Sabah.[23] The MMEA deployed five vessels: KM Adil, KM Berani, KM Mabul, Kilat 40 and Kilat 23 – and two aircraft, a Canadair CL-415 plane and AW139 helicopter. The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) with four vessels: KD Ganas, KD Serang, CB 203 and CB 204, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) with a C130 aircraft and the Marine Police has deployed four vessels, such as the PA 12, RH 29, RH 51 and PSC 1, and its Air Unit, two helicopters, the 9M-PHH and 9M-PHK.[22] Until 30 January, the other victims still cannot be found as the search mission faces challenges due to rough sea condition and strong wind for the monsoon season, but the Malaysian authorities give assurance to Chinese counterpart that the issues were not the excuses and problem for them to stop their operations.[20] The search also been expanded to neighbouring Sarawak with the search area has been widened from 3,000 to 3,900 square nautical miles.[24]

Investigation[edit]

Following the incident, both of the surviving Filipino and Malaysian crewmen have been detained by the local police under Section 304A of the Malaysian Penal Law for causing death by negligence.[25] A third person who is the owner of the boat company have been apprehended to facilitate investigation.[26] All suspects remanded until 3 February,[11] which then extended to 5 February.[27] The boat registration status are also been investigated whether the boat is registered in Sabah or other place.[28][29] According to Sabah State Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Pang Yuk Ming, the boat operator did not have permission from the authorities to use the jetty in Tanjung Aru from which they departed, adding the operator change the route due to the traffic conditions from the main jetty of Jesselton Point.[30] The minister also suspecting the crews may have wanted to avoid law regulations from tourism authorities such as the additional fees, checking of passenger capacity limit for a boat to depart and the use of safety equipment as the jetty they are using is a village jetty without any authorities located.[31] In a statement, the minister said:

However, this was denied by tour boat operator who has using the jetty for years as he claim to have an approval letter from the Sabah state government to use such jetty.[32] This was also supported by the Tanjung Aru Baru village community leader who expressed a similar view on the issue on which he photograph the approval letter given by the state government as evidence to local media. According to what has been stated on the letter, the villagers in Tanjung Aru had applied for permission to use the jetty from the Sabah State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, with the support of the Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Yahya Hussin, who is also a Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah.[32] The letter was signed by the permanent secretary of the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry Ginun Yangus stating that the ministry had no objections to the villagers use and co-operation with the tour company under several conditions. The village community chief added the tour company pays RM1,000 a month to the committee for the use of the jetty, and employs some 15 locals to work as boatmen and security guards, as stipulated by the agreement.[32] The tour boat operator also denied the claim by Sabah Tourism Assistant Minister that their crews wanted to avoid law and safety regulations as they always comply with the usage of safety vests. In a statement, he said:

Due to the tragedy, the pier with benches and table from which the boat depart has been demolished by the Kota Kinabalu City Hall and all tourism activities in the jetty has been stopped immediately.[33] The identity of the missing boat crew are found to be a vegetable seller who just joined the tour boat company about a month ago.[34] Despite a warning to stop further activities, the business going as usual for the boat operators in Tanjung Aru according to the Sabah Tourism Assistant Minister. Due to this, he urged all involved parties to cease any tourism activities until investigation is done being carried out. Adding that three-quarters of the land on the island of Tiga belongs to private individuals while the rest is state land and we found that there are illegal structures erected there.[35] The illegal structures will be demolished in a week and warning letters are being issued to the people involved. In a statement, the Tourism Assistant Minister said:

Effects on diplomatic relations[edit]

The incident put Malaysia in China spotlight again since the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and several other disasters that has taking many lives of Chinese tourists in Malaysia with Mainland Chinese media of China Daily, China Internet Information Center, Global Times, Xinhua News Agency and the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post put a close watch to the tragedy with frequent news update. But despite all of the tragedies, the number of Chinese tourists to Malaysia are unaffected and keep increasing year by year with recent record put the number of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia at 2.2 million, up from 1.2 million for a similar period in 2015.[36]

Reactions[edit]

  •  ChinaForeign Affairs Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang said the Chinese consulate in Kota Kinabalu has activated emergency response mechanisms. The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) also activate a similar emergency response mechanism.[37] Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang pledged the Malaysian side to spare no effort in searching with the Chinese Consulate-General in Kota Kinabalu has sent officials to Malaysia's search and rescue centre to co-ordinate with them following order from President Xi Jinping.[19][38] The Chinese authorities hopes the Malaysian side will continue their search and rescue work and inform them for any recent updates. The ministry also said that “We deeply mourn for the victims and express condolences to the bereaved families”.[21] While the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia asked the Sabah state government to ensure safety of tourists and explain to victims families what is being done to prevent similar incidents from recurring after visiting all the surviving victims at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu.[39]
  •  Malaysia – Prime Minister Najib Razak called for a thorough investigation over the incident and called all parties to abide by rules and guidelines set by the Government to ensure their safety. He wrote on Facebook that “I take the Sabah boat capsize tragedy very seriously, and I want a thorough investigation to identify the cause of the incident. However, for now, complete focus must be given to the search and rescue of six other victims who are still missing”.[40] Sabah State Chief Minister Musa Aman offered his deepest condolences to the families of the victims who perished in the incident and called for relevant authorities to enforce strict regulation. The Chief Minister added “My thoughts and prayers also go to those who are still missing”,[41] and assured the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia that those responsible will be held accountable.[42] While Sabah State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun urging the public to calm and allow authorities to focus on the search and rescue efforts to find the remaining missing victims instead of finger-pointing and looking for a guilty party to place blame.[43] Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said “the tragedy has revealed weaknesses in the enforcement of rules and regulations on tourist boat operations. We take this tragedy seriously, also because it tainted our public image at a time when we are promoting Sabah as a tourist destination. I have directed the Sabah Marine Department to aid in the investigations so that we can come up with pre-emptive measures to ensure this incident does not happen again”.[44] Marine Department director Baharin Abdul Hamid added that “passengers awareness also important to prevent such tragedy. Our department covering the administration in West Malaysia currently monitoring approximately 4,200 passenger boats licenced under our department to ensure that they adhered to all the safety regulations and standard operating procedures. We also compelled all passenger boats to operate and use jetties gazetted by the government. Passenger boat terminal and jetties in Sabah and Sarawak however is under a different administrations of their own; with Sabah Ports and Harbours Department and Sarawak Rivers Board”.[45] Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Yong Teck Lee said the incident could have been avoided if Sabah has its own maritime academy to produce high skills boat operator. Citing on the recent tragedy that the boat operator is only a vegetable seller who had only just join the boat crew.[46] The Democratic Action Party (DAP) of Sabah also urging the government and local authorities to set up independent advisory panel to investigate the incident while offering condolences to those who lost their lives in the tragedy.[47]

See also[edit]


Others articles of the Topic China : Traditional Chinese characters, Simplified Chinese characters

Notes[edit]

  1. IMM13 is notably known in Sabah as a card issued by the Government of Malaysia to Filipino refugees who escaped the political uncertainty in the southern Philippines during the 1970s.[16]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Sabah boat mishap list of victims". Bernama. The Star. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Eileen Ng (30 January 2017). "Malaysia searching for 5 after tour boat sinks; 3 detained". Associated Press. Yahoo! News. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "MMEA reveals identities of six missing in Sabah boat mishap". Bernama. The Borneo Post. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  4. "Boat carrying Chinese tourists goes missing in Malaysia". Xinhua News Agency. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  5. "Malaysia: boat carrying dozens of Chinese tourists missing off Borneo". Agence France-Presse. The Guardian. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  6. 6.0 6.1 A. Ananthalakshmi; Alexandra Harne; Praveen Menon; Clarence Fernandez (30 January 2017). "Malaysia expands search for missing Chinese tourists from sunken boat". Reuters. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  7. "Paradise' Pulau Mengalum popular with tourists from China". The Star. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  8. "Boat carrying 28 Chinese tourists reported missing off Malaysia". Reuters. The Telegraph. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Boat carrying 31, including 28 Chinese tourists, reported missing off Malaysia". Reuters, Associated Press. ABC. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Avila Geraldine (31 January 2017). "Capsized catamaran passenger tally revised due to registration mix-up". New Straits Times. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Stephanie Lee (31 January 2017). "Sabah boat mishap: Number of missing Chinese tourists revised to five". The Star. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  12. "20 Chinese tourists pulled from sea after boat sinks off coast of Borneo, Malaysia". Reuters, Agence France-Presse, New Straits Times. South China Morning Post. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Feng Shuang (1 February 2017). "Tourists on cruise tell of survival, loss". China Daily. ecns.cn. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  14. "Sabah catamaran tragedy: A story too horrific for victims to tell". The Star/Asia News Network. AsiaOne. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  15. "List of survivors, deceased, in capsized catamaran tragedy released". New Straits Times. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  16. "Apakah Pas IMM 13" (in Malay). Attorney General's Chamber (Malaysia). 11 July 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2017.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
  17. "Three dead, 22 rescued in Malaysia shipwreck". Agence France-Presse. Channel NewsAsia. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  18. Julia Chan (31 January 2017). "Sabah boat survivors to be hospitalised another week". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  19. 19.0 19.1 "Search area expanded in hunt for 4 Chinese tourists in Sabah boat sinking, 3 detained". Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Bernama, The Star/Asia News Network. The Straits Times. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Gu Liping (31 January 2017). "No new survivors found, investigations launched into boat accident in Malaysia". ecns.cn. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  21. 21.0 21.1 "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Remarks on Shipwreck in Sabah, Malaysia". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (China). 30 January 2017. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  22. 22.0 22.1 "Sabah boat mishap: Brunei chips in to aid search-and-rescue ops". Bernama. The Star. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  23. James Kon (31 January 2017). "BSP joins search for six missing in boat capsize". Borneo Bulletin. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  24. "Search for Sabah boat victims enters Sarawak waters". The Straits Times. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  25. Ruben Sario (30 January 2017). "Skipper and crewman arrested over Sabah boat mishap". The Star. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  26. Stephanie Lee (30 January 2017). "Police detain third person over Sabah catamaran sinking". The Star. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  27. Kristy Inus (2 February 2017). "Cops get extended remand against skipper, crewman in Sabah catamaran boat tragedy". New Straits Times. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  28. "Sabah boat mishap: Authorities to check registration status of catamaran". Bernama. New Straits Times. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  29. "Is catamaran registered in Sabah?". The Borneo Post. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  30. "Boat with Chinese tourists sailed without permission, says Sabah official". The Malay Mail. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  31. 31.0 31.1 "Sabah probe shows sunken tourist catamaran left from unsanctioned jetty". The Malay Mail. Today Online. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 Julia Chan (1 February 2017). "Sabah tour operator claims they have permission to use 'illegal' jetty". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  33. Ruben Sario (1 February 2017). "KK City Hall demolishes pier from where catamaran began ill-fated trip". The Star. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  34. "Missing man was new at firm". Bernama. The Star. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  35. 35.0 35.1 Stephanie Lee (2 February 2017). "Sabah illegal tour and boat operators get warning following catamaran tragedy". The Star. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  36. "Malaysia in China spotlight again, with Sabah boat incident". Free Malaysia Today. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  37. Huaxia (29 January 2017). "China launches emergency measures over missing tourist boat in Malaysia". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  38. "Xi demands all-out efforts to rescue Chinese tourists in Malaysia". Xinhua News Agency. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  39. Ruben Sario (1 February 2017). "Chinese envoy: Sabah govt must ensure safety of tourists". The Star. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  40. Dina Murad (30 January 2017). "Najib orders full probe into Sabah boat mishap". The Star. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  41. "Sabah CM: Enforce stricter regulations on boat operators". Bernama. The Malay Mail. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  42. "CM: Those responsible will face the music". Daily Express. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  43. Julia Chan (30 January 2017). "Focus on boat search and rescue not point fingers, Sabah minister says". The Malay Mail. Yahoo! News. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  44. Loshana K Shagar (1 February 2017). "Liow calls for stricter enforcement to avoid repeat of Sabah catamaran tragedy". The Star. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  45. "Passengers' awareness on safety aspects can prevent boat tragedy". Bernama. Astro Awani. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  46. "Yong: Time for a maritime academy". Daily Express. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  47. Phoong Jin Zhe (31 January 2017). "Set up independent advisory panel to investigate the Sabah boat incident — DAP". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 31 January 2017.


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