SHAH ALAM, Sept 15 – Seven anglers were reported missing in the waters of One Fathom Bank near Pulau Ketam, Klang on Sunday.
The Selangor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director Captain Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh said an emergency report on the disappearance was lodged via the MERS 999 line at 3.35 am on Monday, Harian Metro reported.
He said MMEA assets were deployed as early as 3.40 am after receiving the report that the seven anglers, including the skipper, went missing after leaving Sementa Jetty, Klang, before the search and rescue operation, Op Carilamat was officially activated at 5am.
"This integrated operation was carried out with the North Klang District Police Headquarters (IPD) and Port Klang Marine Police Force as well as the Sungai Pinang Fire and Rescue Station team.
"Maritime Malaysia is mobilising sea and air assets simultaneously to expand the search coverage and increase the effectiveness of efforts to locate the victim," he said.
Muhaimin added that the search will cover the sea area of 118.4 square nautical miles while the air covers an area of 509.6 square nautical miles around the waters of One Fathom Bank.
"The assets involved are the Penggalang 1 Boat and the CL415MP (Bombardier) aircraft, in addition to the RH16 Marine Police Force asset and an aluminum boat belonging to the Fire and Rescue Department.
"The search is still ongoing as the seven fishermen including the skipper have yet to be located and contacted," he said.
Earlier, a post was circulated on social media claiming that Mohd Rizal Sadali, believed to be one of the anglers, had not yet returned from fishing at sea via the Sementa Jetty, Klang.
It also featured a photo of Mohd Rizal along with information that the other six friends boarded the boat at 8.20 am on Sunday and were supposed to arrive back at the jetty by 8.30 pm the same day.
However, the anglers did not turn up until 5.30am on Monday (Sept 14), and could not be contacted.
