SEBUYAU: Four bodies suspected to be the crew members of the capsized MV Tung Sung cargo ship on July 21 were found afloat in the waters of Pulau Burung yesterday (July 22).
Initially, at around 1.15pm, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak received information from local fishermen regarding the discovery of three bodies floating some 15 nautical miles northeast of Pulau Burung.
State director First Admiral Zin Azman Md Yunus said the Kota Kinabalu maritime ship, along with the other rescue agencies, were deployed to the location where the bodies were spotted.
“The bodies were retrieved and taken to the Sebuyau public jetty to be handed over to the police for hotel transportation.
“Later, at around 5.25pm, the Kota Kinabalu maritime ship retrieved another body that was seen floating in the same search sector, and it was handed over to the police for further action at the Tun Abang Salahuddin Maritime Complex Jetty (KOMTAS),” he said.
All four bodies have yet to be identified.
Nonetheless, the search and rescue (SAR) operation for the remaining missing victims is still ongoing.
Should the public have any information on the whereabouts of the missing crewmen, they can immediately contact the MMEA Sarawak operations centre at 082-432544.
Eight crewmen went missing on Thursday after the cargo ship transporting pebbles to Sibu from Kuching overturned and capsized in Pulau Burung waters.
The crewmen are aged between 20 and 52, three of whom are locals from Sibu identified as Chieng Siew Ngiek, Wong Hua Wu, and Stimba Chuit.
Four of them are Myanmar nationals, namely That Min July, Ye Lin Htet, Hla Win Tun, Tun Lin Oo, and an Indonesian man named Lido Ali Purwanto.
