13 Indonesians missing in boat tragedy off Batu Payung

Tawau police confirmed a boat with 15 Indonesians sank in the waters of Batu Payung.

Tawau police chief ACP Fadil Marsus said the 15 victims comprised 12 men and three women including five children.

"Search is on for 13 victims while a couple managed to swim for 25 hours from the location of the incident to the Batu Payung beach," he told reporters here.

According to him, the couple who were rescued were Budiman Muslimin, 26, of West Sulawesi and his wife Hasmida Masaniaga, 24, of South Sulawesi.

In this regard, Fadil said the incident occurred about five to 10 minutes after the speedboat left Batu Payung, Tawau at 5.30pm for Sungai Nyamuk, Indonesia, before the vessel was hit by giant waves and capsized.

Earlier, the boat was reported to have capsized at midnight on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, he said the Indonesian consul in Tawau had been informed of the tragedy at 7.30pm Wednesday evening.

The search and rescue operation for the 13 victims was halted at midnight yesterday and will resume today involving an area of seven nautical miles south of Tinagat off Sabah waters. -- Bernama