JOHOR BARU: Two Singaporeans went missing while kayaking in turbulent waters off Mersing, on Thursday, Bernama reported.
The duo – Tan Eng Soon, 52, and Puah Geok Tin, 64 – is believed to have drifted from a group of 13 other Singaporeans who had set off on a group kayaking excursion from the Penyabong jetty in Mersing at 10am.
Tan and Puah are thought to have been separated from the group due to choppy waters and strong winds at about 5.40pm, when they were between Pulau Sri Buat, Pahang and Pulau Mertang in Endau waters, off Mersing.
Efforts by fellow kayakers to locate the duo proved futile, and the group subsequently lodged a police report at the Rompin police station, Pahang, at 10.30am on Friday.
“A search and rescue (SAR) mission, involving 13 personnel from the Endau police station, the Marine Operations Force, the Civil Defence Department and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) was activated at the Penyabong jetty at about 3.30pm (on Friday),” said Mersing police acting chief Assistant Superintendent Mohd Nor Mohd Isa.
He added that the duo was in a bright-green kayak and that their disappearance has been classified as a “missing persons” case.