Bachok boat tragedy: Survivor clung to float before being rescued

Recalling the unforgettable moment, Muhammad Faris said 20 people including the skipper and crew had arrived at the location to catch fish and squid.

“We just arrived at the scene at Maghrib time and were only able to fish for a short time before the storm came and hit our boat causing it to capsize.

“At that time, the boat skipper instructed us to go inside the boat to escape. The skipper said the anchor rope broke, the incident happened so fast that I could not see anything else,” he told reporters when met at his home in Kampung Padang Tok La here today.

Earlier, Bernama reported that in the 8 pm incident, four were found drowned, four were still missing and another 12 were confirmed to be safe.

The eldest of six siblings said this was the first time he went fishing at sea and managed to save himself by hanging to the fishing net float.

“I went underwater before reaching the fishing net float and was able to rescue my two other friends, Harif Mat Yasin, 50 and Ahmad Roslan Musa, 32, while the others were missing.

“I could only pray and I would have also died if fishermen boats did not come to our rescue,” he said.

Muhammad Faris, who works as a shop assistant said after he was pulled out, he began searching for his uncle, Hasan Daud, 60, who is reportedly still missing.

“Thank god, my cousin, Amir Syazwan Adnan, 21, also survived and this looks like my first and last trip to sea. This incident will be a bitter experience that I will remember it forever,” he added.

Meanwhile, families of victims have accepted what has happened but hoped their missing family members will be found soon in the search and rescue operation.

Daniah Deraman, 62 from Kampung Pangkalan Pasir here is praying her son, Abad Syafiq Che Alim will be found and did not expect her son to be involved in the tragic incident.

“Before he left, I had stopped him from going because I was worried for him as this is his first time at sea. However, he was adamant as he wanted to gain new experience.

“While leaving, his father gave him RM100 for boat fare and I saw him riding a motorcycle with a friend,” she said when met at the Pengkalan Kuala Kemasin jetty here today.

Rosniwati Abdullah, 50, also hoped that her husband Harun Daud, 57 would be found, adding this is the first time her husband went fishing at sea as he always goes fishing at the river with his friends.

“I only knew about the incident at 12.45 am and quickly rushed to Kemasin this morning for further information.