GEORGE TOWN: The family of Rosmin Selamat, 62, who is feared to have drowned after the boat he was in capsized, were seen weeping and praying for his safety.
His wife, son, and several other family members had arrived at Pantai Utama from Manjong, Perak at 5.40pm after being notified by authorities at noon today.
On arrival, they were briefed on the search and rescue mission by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) operation commander, Azman Samsudin.
Shortly after that, Rosmin’s son, Samsul had left his mother with his wife and uncle while he sat by the beach, praying for his father’s safety.
After the search and rescue mission was called off at 7pm, the family left the area with a heavy heart. Samsul was seen holding his mother in his arms.
Rosmin was reported missing at 7pm last night after the boat carrying seven people on a survey of a land reclamation project capsized due to strong waves.
Six of them, four Indonesians and two Malaysians, were saved by the Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) and local fisherman.
Azman said four boats, from MMEA, Marine Police, Civil Defence Departmen and FRD covered 10 nautical miles, including Seberang Perai Utara and Selatan.
“The sea is calm. We are confident of findinmg him in about 24 hours.”
The fibre boat which could carry a maximum of six people was rented by a local company that was conducting surveys for a reclamation project.
“The boat had exceeded the weight limit and early investigations found that only one person was wearing a life jacket when it capsized. We will cooperate with the company which hired them to get full details of their work that night.”
The search and rescue mission had started from 7.30am today till 7pm and will resume again tomorrow morning at 7.30am. --BERNAMA