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Malaysia boat sinks: 23 Chinese tourists and two crew rescued | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
Twenty-three Chinese tourists and two crew members have survived after their boat sank in rough seas off eastern Malaysia, officials said. | |
Shahidan Kassim, a minister in charge of national security, told reporters that six people were still missing, | |
The catamaran sank on Saturday - the first day of the Chinese New Year holiday. | |
It sparked a major air and sea search covering 400 nautical square miles. | |
"We will deploy search assets that can operate at night, and continue our rescue operations to locate those who are still missing," Mr Shahidan told a press conference in Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah. | |
The catamaran left Kota Kinabalu in Sabah on Saturday at 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT) and was heading towards Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60km (37 miles) west of the city. | |
Three crew members were on board the vessel, along with 31 passengers. | |
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said it received a distress call from the boat but contact was lost soon after. | The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said it received a distress call from the boat but contact was lost soon after. |
The owner of the vessel alerted authorities on Saturday night that it had never reached the island, and the search operation was launched. | |
The boat's skipper and one of the two surviving crew members were found alive earlier on Sunday off a nearby island, where they had managed to swim to safety. Eighteen of the tourists were found by fishermen, and five others by a tugboat. | |
Rescue hit by rough seas | |
"According to the skipper, the boat was 'broken' after being hit by waves and sank," the head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said in a statement. | |
The head of the Malaysian navy, Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin, said ships and a C130 aircraft were searching for those still missing. | |
Authorities said the hunt had been hampered by rough seas and strong winds in the search area. | |
Chinese President Xi Jinping has "demanded all-out search and rescue efforts" by Malaysia, according to China's official Xinhua news agency. | |
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak has said he is monitoring developments closely. |