KUCHING, April 21 — Missing diver Karen Chong’s brother failed to call the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak’s emergency line or MERS 999 for help when she went missing last Saturday, said MMEA Sarawak Maritime Captain Yousry Yaali.
Yousry, who is operations deputy director, said this is in response to Brandon Chong Sze Hua’s claim that his call to MMEA Sarawak for help had gone unanswered on the day of the incident.
“The line that he called was an office line and not the 24-hour emergency line, which is 082-432544 (MMEA Sarawak Operations centre) or MERS 999.
“After receiving the report from MERS 999 from MRCC Putrajaya, and MRSC Kuching received the report at around 8pm on April 17, and the same information received by the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Operations Centre through a report made by Brandon Chong, Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) Kuching immediately activated the search and rescue (SAR) and alerted MMEA Guard Boat 6, which was already at sea on operational duty since April 15, 2021, was asked to go to the location,” he told a press conference at the Telaga Air jetty.
According to Yousry, Brandon could not provide the exact detailed location of the incident.
He said MMEA Guard Boat 6 could not conduct the SAR on the night of the incident effectively due to poor visibility at night, incomplete location information of the incident, and the probability of the boat endangering Karen should she surface.
MRSC Kuching had channelled information on the incident and activation of the SAR operation to other agencies such as the police, Marine Police (PPM), Police Air Unit, Bomba, and Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM), he said.
He also explained that on Sunday (April 18), MRSC Kuching through its SAR base at the Telaga Air jetty received detailed information through a police report lodged by James Chung Ung Kiong at around 8.30am and this information was more helpful for the SAR operation.
MRSC Kuching continued its fourth day in the search area at sea today, covering 80.42 square nautical miles around the waters of Pulau Satang Besar.
Today’s operation involved MMEA Sarawak personnel, PPM, and Chong’s family, as well as air search by the Police Air Unit and APM drone.
“The PPM diving team is also helping us in carrying out a search by diving at the last location where the victim is believed to have gone missing, while the Bomba team is carrying out search around the waters of Pulau Satang Besar.
“As of this 11am this morning, the SAR still has not found any clues on the missing diver. At the same time, MMEA together with PDRM is still in the process of collecting information related to the cause of the incident,” Yousry added.
He said as the location of the victim’s dive was not far from the open sea, MMEA Sarawak has also sought assistance from its Indonesian counterparts.
“We have also alerted our Indonesian counterpart, Badan Nasional Pencarian dan Pertolongan (Basarnas), apart from our own marine community and fishermen, if they find any object at sea, they are to alert us immediately,” he said.
Any emergency at sea can be reported to MERS 999 or the 24-hour MMEA Sarawak emergency line on 082-432544. — Borneo Post Online
