Semporna boat tragedy: Five victims buried last night

SEMPORNA: The bodies of five family members who died after their boat sank in the waters of Kampung Tandoan, Pulau Timbun Mata on Thursday, were safely buried in one grave last night.

A family member, Hassan Nurjani said the victims were buried in Kampung Sungai Nasip here at about 8 pm.

"We accept this fate," he said when met by Bernama at the Semporna Hospital.

Another two victims of the boat tragedy who were found this morning will be buried at Kampung Sungai Nasip and Kampung Rasak after a post-mortem.

"All the victims were related to each other," he said.

Meanwhile, Musliat Landuh, 53, said the family held a sunat hajat prayer last night as a last resort to find his two grandsons.

"Thankfully, at about 6 am today, we managed to locate my two grandchildren who were both drowned," he said.

Yesterday, five people were reported drowned, two missing while another 14 survived after the boat they were in capsized in the waters of Kampung Tandoan, Pulau Timbun Mata on Thursday night.

According to Musliat, all 21 victims had started their journey at 5.45 pm from Kampung Bakung-Bakung heading towards Kampung Tandoan to visit their families and to break fast.

"However, I was informed by a nephew who survived, the boat got entangled with seaweeds. The weather was bad and the waves were big. Unfortunately, the boat capsized when they failed to avoid a wave. The tragedy happened near the coast.

-- BERNAMA