LANGKAWI: Three fishermen endured the scariest eight hours of their lives when they had to cling onto water barrels to stay afloat after their boat capsized near Pulau Rebak Besar here this morning.
The 6.45am incident occurred 3.7 nautical miles off the island when the fishermen were taking shelter near the island to escape the heavy rain and choppy waters.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Langkawi Maritime District 1 deputy director, Maritime Commander Nurulazme Zakariah said the fishermen have been identified as Ai Swee Moi, 61, Mohd Najib Saad, 53, and Ismail Ali, 40.
“We received a report about a capsized fishing boat at the location at about 10.40am. A rescue team was dispatched to the location at 11am,” he said in a statement.
Nurulazme said several fishing boats which were passing the area tried to rescue the fishermen but were denied by the strong waves.
He said the fishermen were subsequently rescued at 3.20pm by the MMEA rescue team.
“The men were extremely exhausted when they were rescued. All of them have been sent to the Langkawi Hospital for treatment,” he said.