GEORGE TOWN: Poor weather conditions have again prevented the search and rescue (SAR) team here from deploying a remote operated vehicle (ROV) to locate a missing Brazilian yachter.
As the SAR operation enters its fifth day today, the team has yet to uncover any clues as to the whereabouts of Lucas Bondezan, 24, or the luxury yacht he was in, which caught fire and capsized off Penang on Friday.
Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) northern region maritime director First Admiral Tan Kok Kwee told the New Straits Times that the search is still ongoing for now.
"Since Sunday, we have wanted to launch the submersible ROV, but were forced to scrap the plan following heavy rain and choppy waves.
"Nevertheless, the search is still ongoing and there are no plans to call it off for now," he said.
The search parameter has been fixed on a 15-mile radius in waters close to the Kedah-Penang border, the site where Bondezan had jumped from the yacht before it capsized, some 15 nautical miles from Muka Mead off Penang.
Two MMEA vessels, KM Burau and KM Kimanis, have been deployed to assist in the operation.
Bondezan was among four crew members of the luxury yacht UN1K which capsized at about 3am on Friday.
It is learnt that the yacht, en route to Singapore from a yacht club in Langkawi at 7pm, had experienced technical problems in the engine room before it caught fire and later exploded.
The other three crew members, who were rescued by a local fishing vessel, received treatment at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Kedah. They have since been discharged.
They have been identified as Jaroslav Horejsek, 37, from the Czech Republic, who suffered serious injuries on his leg; Rudolf Kolic, from Croatia, who also suffered leg injuries; and Novak Novakovic from Serbia.