ROMPIN: Although the fishing boat which capsized in Tanjung Gemok waters on Dec 8 has been successfully retrieved, there are still no signs of a missing 39-year-old crew member.
A Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) spokesman said the crew member, who was reported missing, was not inside the boat.
Thus, the search and rescue operations to locate Che Mohd Arif Che Hussin will continue.
"The boat which was recovered at Pulau Lalang, Endau is in a bad condition with the wheelhouse completely broken after the vessel was hit by strong waves. The boat has been towed to the Endau jetty in Rompin," he said, adding that divers from the navy were also involved in helping to bring the boat to the surface.
In the 8pm incident, rough sea conditions had caused the boat to take on water and damaged its water pump.
The skipper ordered all the five crew members to jump into the sea before they were rescued by a fishing boat which was passing the area.
However, once on the boat, the skipper realised Mohd Arif was missing and he later alerted the MMEA's Eastern Region Operations Centre in Kuantan before a search and rescue operation was launched at about 9.30am on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Mohd Arif's elder brother Mohd Adnan Che Hussin, 41, said his younger sibling had only joined as a fishing boat crew about a month ago.
"Previously, he was a contract worker for two years and also worked at a workshop," he said, adding that he hopes that the rescuers will be able to locate his brother soon.