11 Malaysians rescued in waters off Tawi-Tawi

Tawi-Tawi map. INQUIRER FILES

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — Eleven Malaysian nationals were rescued from a distressed speedboat in the sea waters off Sibutu Passage on Friday afternoon, March 31, the military said.

Brigadier General Romeo Racadio, commander of Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi said they received information from the Littoral Monitoring Station (LMS) in Bongao about a speedboat with 11 passengers drifting in Sibutu Passage. The speedboat reportedly encountered engine trouble.

The LMS Bongao got the information from the boat captain of MV Tomini Dynasty, a Marshall Island-flagged bulk carrier bound for Rizhao, China.

“After receiving the report, JTF Tawi-Tawi, through its task units, conducted validation in coordination with the different law enforcement units and lead government agencies. The Maritime Coordinating Center Tawi-Tawi (MCC-TT) of JTF Tawi-Tawi immediately coordinated with the MCC-Tawau regarding the incident,” Racadio said in a statement.

The 11 Malaysian nationals are identified as Zainal Bin Sarabi, Muhidin Bin Ibrahim, Umami Binti Hajarun, Abdurlan Anwa Binti Osman, Mohammad Ridzwan Bin Mahiddin, Abdulhamid Bin Mansulung, Sittie Naum Binti Osman, Sittie Salwa Binti Osman, Mohammad Irman Ramadhan Bin Mohammad Bin Irwan, and Mohammad Irsyad Rifga Bin Mohammad Irwan.

Based on the statements of the rescued passengers, the speedboat was a family-owned watercraft that left Tawau for Semporna, Sabah, on March 28.

While they were traveling in the sea waters of Tawau, the engine’s injection pump malfunctioned. The crew tried to fix it but to no avail, causing them to drift to Sibutu Strait, after being hit by big waves and strong currents due to bad weather conditions.

Racadio said personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard Sibutu Station and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Sibutu proceeded to the location and provided water, food, and immediate medical assistance to the rescued Malaysian nationals.

MV Tomimi Dynasty then properly turned over the 11 Malaysians and their towed watercraft to the Royal Malaysian Navy in Sabah in the wee hours of April 1.

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