Survivors’ accounts say 11 passengers are still missing in the express boat accident in the Rajang River near Belaga yesterday while 179 others managed to swim to shore as at this morning, said Sarawak Police Commissioner Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

azlanHe said the search and rescue (SAR) operation involving 100 personnel from the police, fire services, health department, welfare department and Kapit Resident’s Office, 11 rescue boats and 18 divers were still continuing at the accident spot, at the Jeram Tukok/Jeram Bungan, about four hours journey upriver from Sibu.

“We have yet to confirm if those still missing are trapped in the sunken express boat or have been swept away by the swift river currents upriver,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Sarawak state legislative assembly sitting in Kuching.

He said the police would be gathering evidence under Section 304 of the Penal Code to determine if there was negligence on the part of the express boat operator for any deaths caused, with the assistance of the Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB).

It would be difficult to identify any possible victims as the operator concerned was believed to have not kept a passengers’ list on board the overloaded ill-fated express boat, which crashed on a rock and subsequently sank.

Meanwhile, Ba’Kelalan state assemblyman Baru Bian urged SRB to recruit more enforcement officers and to set up more offices in areas beyond Kapit to ensure regular riverine checks on express boats plying the Rajang River.

At present SRB enforcement officers had to be deployed in speed boats to conduct such riverine checks in upriver places like Bakun and Belaga, he said.

In conveying his deepest condolences to the families of those involved in the accident, he said, the people who depended solely on riverine transport could not afford anymore such tragedies as there had been too many such accidents.

He also urged the Marine Department to review its procedure in approving the licences of express boat operators and drivers as well as the safety-worthiness of these vessels.

11 more survivors found, says OCPD

In another development, 11 more survivors were plucked from the Rajang River near Belaga in the interior Sarawak late yesterday to bring the total number of passengers surviving from a capsized express boat there to 192 persons, Belaga OCPD, DSP Bakar Sebau said today.

He said the latest survivors were picked up by a passing barge before being brought over to a temporary relief centre at a longhouse nearby to the scene of the tragedy.

According to him, the actual number of passengers onboard the ill-fated boat could not be determined as of now as no passenger manifest had been made available to the police yet.

He said the figure that was available yesterday was based on interviews with the boat operator and survivors.

“As of now, we could not say how many more are still missing even though new survivors were found, unless we have the manifest,” he said when contacted from Sibu.

The ill-fated express boat, named Kawan Mas, was on its way from Bakun in the upper part of Belaga town to Kapit when it was said to have hit a rock and sank near Tanjong Giam Bungan between 8.30am and 9.00am yesterday.

Meanwhile, Bakar said the search and rescue team had set a 3km radius area around the site where the boat sank for the search operation.

As of noon today, the search operation which involved five divers each from the Fire and Rescue Department and the Marine Operation Force had yet to find any bodies.

Other than the nine policemen from Belaga Police District, the operations also involved their counterparts from Bintulu and Kapit districts.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Minister of Land Development Dr James Masing and the state assemblyperson for Belaga, Liwang Lagang were at the scene of the tragedy to monitor the search and rescue operations for the victims.

Efforts to lift up the sunken express boat using a barge had to be aborted after one hour when the cable tied from the barge to the express boat snapped.

In addition, the search and rescue operation also involved 10 long boats and speedboats, five land vehicles and a helicopter.

Liwan said the search and rescue operation would be continued by getting assistance from logging camp operators.

“I will go to Belaga to seek assistance from owners of logging camps because they are the only ones with barges installed with cranes to help in the operation.

“We will try as soon as possible and if successful, we will take the equipment this afternoon to the operation area. However, all this is subject to the availability of the barges and cranes,” he added.

- Bernama