SEBUYAU: The search and rescue (SAR) operation for Francis Awi who fell into the waters of Pulau Burong on April 18, has been called off after no new leads surfaced in the week-long operation.
Thirty-nine-year-old Francis, a crew member of a fishing boat, was reported to have fallen into the waters of Pulau Burong around 6.30am, about 10 nautical miles off Sebuyau.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak director First Admiral (Maritime) Zin Azman Md Yunus in a statement on Sunday (Apr 24), said the decision to end the operation was made at 2.30pm after taking into account the seven-day operation’s progress.
Francis’ family members were present to attend a briefing by the rescue team on the operation’s progress at the SAR Forward Base in Sebuyau public jetty.
“From the first day to the seventh day, the rescue team covered about 1,020.82 square nautical miles in the waters of Pulau Burong, Sebuyau, Maludam to Kabong to look for the victim.
“A total of 120 rescuers including the public, participated in the search,” he said.
Various government assets were used in the seven-day operation, namely the MMEA’s Kilat 22 vessel, the AS355N aircraft of the Police Air Unit, Marine Police’s PA17 boat, four Sarawak Coast Guard assets – SC TERUBOK, SC SENANGIN, SC TERUSAN, BARACCUDA, and two aluminium boats from the Fire and Rescue Department and the Civil Defense Force (APM).
In addition, Zin Azman urged the maritime community to always ensure their boat is in good condition and cancel the intention to go to sea in the event of bad weather, prioritise safety by always wearing a safety jacket and bring along a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) device to facilitate the rescue team directly to emergency locations.
The agency welcomes any information regarding any emergencies at sea from the maritime community, which can be directly channelled to the MMEA Sarawak Operations Centre at 082- 432544/432016 or the MERS 999.
