CB204: SAR mission underway to find missing Royal Malaysian Navy gunship

Rough seas and bad weather are hampering the search for the missing Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) gunship CB204, said Navy chief Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar.

In a series of tweet, he confirmed that search and rescue operations (SAR) has began since morning.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has deployed six RMN assets despite 'low rain clouds' condition that has attributed to halting of the SAR operations.

CB204: APMM menugaskan 2 kapal dan 1 pesawat untuk Op SAR. KM MABUL dan KM BERANI di kawasan SAR membantu 3 kapal TLDM.
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) October 6, 2014

CB204: APMM menyediakan pesawat AW139 di KKIA untuk Op SAR. Namun pesawat tidak dapat menyertai Op kerana cuaca, dan juga low rain clouds.
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) October 6, 2014

The Navy Chief added that four sectors have been established in the SAR operations.

CB204: KD GANAS menyertai Op SAR membantu KD LEKIU, KD PARI, KD SERANG, KM MABUL dan KM BERANI dlm OP SAR di 4 sektor yg ditubuhkan.
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) October 6, 2014

CB204: Kawasan Pencarian dibahagi kepada 4 Sektor: A, B, C dan D. 6 kapal dan 1 pesawat TUDM terlibat dlm OP SAR. pic.twitter.com/rTCYUddR8e
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) October 6, 2014

Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has jumped in to deploy a Beechcraft aircraft to assist with SAR.

CB204: TUDM mengoperasikan Pesawat Beechcraft dlm Op SAR sejak awal pagi hari ini. Namun, awan hujan tebal yg rendah menyukarkan pencarian.
— Abdul Aziz Jaafar (@ChiefofNavy) October 6, 2014

On social media, concerned Malaysians have called out for the safety of the crew by using the hashtag #prayforCB204.

Let us take some moments and #PrayForCB204 . Semoga semua perajurit ditemui dengan selamat. All the best SAR crews.
— nazrin (@nazrinfaris) October 6, 2014

Another tragic event for Malaysia and now it's on the waters. Missing Navy speed boats on the shores of Sabah #PrayForCB90 #PrayForCB204
— VN | ⭐ (@vknsvrn) October 6, 2014

Malaysian Navy attack boat with seven personnel are still missing in Sabah waters. #PrayForCB204 pic.twitter.com/LjeAqtNv81
— andy telasai (@andytelasai) October 6, 2014

The RMN on Sunday said they have lost all communication with the combat vessel as it headed to an RMN station on Layang-Layang atoll off Sabah.

The CB90 type of combat vessel, assigned to operate from RMN Station Five on the atoll, lost communication with the escort vessel KD Paus during the voyage, said Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar.

He said in a statement that the vessel left the RMN base in Kota Kinabalu at 5 am on Sunday and lost radio communication with the escort vessel at 11.15 am.

The gunboat’s last known position was 20 nautical miles northeast Pulau Mengalum around 1.05pm Sunday.