KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — Six members of a family including a 27-year-old wanting the Hindu sea god Lord Varuna’s blessings for her engagement drowned on Thursday when their overloaded fishing boat sprung a leak and sank three nautical miles from Bagan Sungai Kajang beach here.

Jaya Sangkari Gnanasegaran, who was to have been betrothed the next day, her mother M. Gnaswdree, 59, and four of her relatives could not swim to safety in the 6.45pm incident that has shocked this small fishing town.

The other victims were her uncle, M. Kunasegaran, 57, his wife A. Muniamah, 49, their son K. Logaraj, 29, and A. Pakianathan, the middleman who arranged the boating trip.

Still missing is her younger brother, Shankar, 24, whose body is believed to have been swept away by currents.

Two of her cousins, C. Sathyah, 25, and V. Nagaswari, 30,  and the four boatmen -  N. Sanmugan,  S. Alumalai, C. Sundraja and S. Partiven - were rescued by passing fishermen after clinging for hours to the half-submerged boat.

Jaya Sangkari, a clerk at a private clinic in Sungai Buloh, is to have been married in January.

What has shocked her relatives is the fact that the 14 aboard the 11 metre-long boat only had two  life jackets between them.

Kuala Selangor police chief, Supt Mohd Taib Ahmad, said police were investigating claims that the boat was not in good enough condition to be taken out to sea and that the man at the helm was not qualified for the task.

“We will be investigating the case as sudden death and will look into questions about the condition of the boat and the ability of the owner to take it to sea.

Muhd Taib said police have yet to record statements from Sathyah and Nagaswari and would be doing so once search and rescue operations ended.

Jaya Sangkari’s father M. Gnanasegaran, 59, a retired army officer, said his daughter, wife and son had come to Kampung Sungai Kajang to seek the blessings of the sea god ahead of her engagement.

“I just can’t believe this happened. I just do not know how to react as I feel like my entire life has been taken away from me.

“It was supposed to be a trip to seek blessings for my daughter’s engagement but I am shocked that it turned out like this. Villagers are telling me that the boat has not been used for the last two years and was not seaworthy.”

He said he received a call from  police when he was in Sekinchan about 13 km away and rushed over just as the bodies of his wife and daughter were brought to shore.

According to C. Sathyah, the boat started taking on water while passengers were engaged in the  religious ceremony.

“‘Most of us were sitting on one side of the boat which caused it to tilt and take in some more water. We tried to bail water out but to no avail as the boat continued to sink,’ he said.

He said he managed to grab on to one of the life jackets to stay afloat.

“As the currents pushed me, I managed to grab on to the body of my aunt, who had already drowned,” he said.

Sathyah  said he managed to alert a passing fisherman boat after waving and shouting for about an hour.

He said the mechanical suction pump on the boat was not working resulting in the vessel sinking in minutes.

“Some of the passengers jumped off in panic to save themselves even though they did not know how to swim,’ he added.

Fisherman K. Maniam, who was the first to notice the cries for help, said his supervisor turned the vessel around after noticing a pair of hands waving from the water.

The two then searched the vicinity of the sunken vessel and found those who had drowned.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Assistant Director, Mohd Sani Harul, said the boat could have sank as it was leaning to one side during the ritual.

“We have gathered information that the boat was listing heavily towards one side when the ritual took place. At this time, a lot of water entered the boat after which the situation worsened as it was hit by waves,” he said.

Sani added the search and rescue mission would continue today.