PASIR PUTEH: Eight anglers, a skipper and his two crewmen reported missing in the South China Sea since Saturday, were found safe last night.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) 10th District Maritime Deputy Operations Director Ismail Hamzah said a Maritime Rescue 7 patrol boat found the group and the boat about 41 nautical miles from Tok Bali Beach at around 10.40pm.
"The eight anglers were ferried back to Tok Bali in a rescue boat, while the three crew stayed back for the tow boat. They safely arrived at Tok Bali at 1.30am," he said.
Ismail said initial information showed that the boat they were in had engine trouble when they were at 64 nautical miles out to sea. The communication system on the boat was also not working at the time.
He said the eight, Muhamad Zaidi, 30; Mohd Shariful Aidi Zakaria, 31; Mohd Faizal Abd Rahman, 31; Suhaimi Mat Jusoh, 33; Mohd Sulaiman Abdul Kadir@Ghazali, 34; Mohd Zaidi Yaacob, 42; Nik Mohd Shukri Nik Mustapa, 49; and Zakaria Kadir, 54; are all civil servants working in Kelantan.