JERTIH: Four foreign fishermen were feared drowned after their boat sank about 12 nautical miles from Kuala Besut early this morning.
Deputy Setiu police chief Deputy Superintendent Azrol Anuar Nor said the incident occurred about 3am.
He said the boat, skippered by a Thai and crewed by four Myanmar men, left the Geting fishing jetty in Tumpat, Kelantan, yesterday and was near Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Susu Dara when it went down in stormy weather.
"One of the fishermen was rescued by another boat while the rest are still missing. Their boat was registered in Kelantan and they were on their way to fish in Terengganu waters yesterday evening," he told reporters today.
The rescued victim was brought back to the Tok Bali jetty in Kelantan.
Search and Rescue (SAR) operations have been launched involving police from Besut, and eastern territory marine police.
"We received help rom the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) with five officers and 51 other personnel for the operation. The search radius is about six nautical miles from the location the incident happened," said Azrol.
A report was also lodged by the brother of the boat owner who said all the fishermen in the boat possessed permits.
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