CHUKAI: A duffel bag belonging to one of the victims of the fishing boat which capsized during a collision with a barge here, was recovered by divers yesterday.
The bag belongs to Aina Husna Mohamad Mohamad Husaini, 24, who is still missing.
Kemaman Maritime Zone Operations deputy director Muhamad Faisal Abdul Rahim said the black duffel bag was found by a team of divers.
According to him, the duffel bag was found by a team of divers who dived at a depth of about 30 meters.
"The bag was identified by Aina Husna's fiance, Muhammad Nor Iqbar Shaharuddin, 27, as well as the boat captain, Saipul Ridzuan Osman, 50.
"It contained some of the victim's items including a headlamp, two flashlights, a hand fan, a set of keys, and a phone charger.
"After diving at the second location at a depth of about 120 meters from the incident location, we found the item separately but we failed to find the wreckage of the boat," he said in a press conference at the Kemaman Maritime Zone office, yesterday.
He said nine divers from the Malaysian Diving Squadron, Special Action Team, and Maritime Rescue were involved in the search.
"The diving team also faced difficulties compared to the first day's dive due to the strong currents on the seabed.
"Even though the weather conditions are good, visibility is very limited," he said.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Nor Iqbar said, he was very confident that the duffel bag found by the rescue team belonged to Aina Husna.
"I put all the items in the bag before she left for Kemaman on Saturday," he said.
In the incident that happened about 6.30am, a boat carrying nine fishermen including two tekongs anchored at the location was hit by a barge.
Two people, Siti Zamimah Mohman Zobini, 29, from Selayang, Selangor, and a local tekong, Shahril Ismail, 50, died.
Apart from Aina Husna, Yusof Kassam, 66, has yet to be found while five other victims were successfully rescued.