KUCHING: Day Four of the search and rescue (SAR) operation for a missing 46-year-old man at Talang Talang Island, Sematan, was affected by poor weather and rough sea conditions.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak director First Admiral Zin Azman Md Yunus said as of 2.30pm, the weather was poor and the sea was slightly rough.
Wind speeds were recorded between 20km and 40km per hour and waves around 1.5m to 2.5m high.
He added that the search on Tuesday (Sept 20) covered 94.77 square nautical miles, bringing the overall search area to 681.95 square nautical miles.
“The search at sea is divided into two main areas around Sematan and where the jet ski was found on Sunday (Sept 18).
“The search has expanded around the waters of Tanjung Sipang to Sempadi and the open sea.”
Some 86 rescuers from various agencies took part in the operation with eight boats and a drone.
Last Friday, Lee Chong Loong was reported missing by his friend around 10.15pm after a jet ski test run turned tragic.
Both of them were reported to have left Pak Amit jetty towards Satang Island for the test run as well as to conduct fishing in the area.
According to the victim’s friend, they decided to continue their journey towards Telok Melano and Talang Talang Besar Island due to good weather conditions.
The friend realised that the victim was nowhere behind him and turned back to Talang Talang Besar Island to look for the victim but to no avail.
