Ten people, including two crew members, were injured in an explosion that took place on a boat at 11.50am on Tuesday (Aug 22) in Mersing.
The incident occurred 7.6 nautical miles (14.07km) southeast of Pulau Pemanggil, near Mersing. According to Suhaizan Saadin, Maritime Comm Suhaizan Saadin of Mersing Zone Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), the passengers were heading to Pulau Aur, which is approximately 76.5km from mainland Mersing, when the explosion happened.
Upon receiving a call from the Mersing Zone Maritime Operations Centre, MMEA deployed its Perkasa 44 patrol boat, which was conducting routine Ops Jaksa, to the scene. An inspection on-site revealed that two female passengers suffered severe leg injuries, whereas four other women sustained minor leg wounds. One male passenger had severe injuries on his legs and waist, while another man had leg injuries as well. The two crew members had light injuries, according to Suhaizan Saadin.
The passengers affected by the explosion were Zeila Md Lazaam (43), Nur Anis Shuhaiza Abdul Shukor (28), Razila Affandi (32), Norazimah Mohd Yasa (48), Diyana Safarudin (30), and Siti Hazerina Sheikh Abu Bakar (46). The two male victims were identified as Mohd Hasnizam Has (31) and Azrul Azhar Yaman (29). The injured boat captain was Mohd Fadzli Mohamed (27), and his assistant was Muhamad Arif Ramadan Hazrani (30).
All the victims received preliminary treatment before being transferred to MMEA’s patrol boat and nearby fishing boats. They were then sent to Hospital Mersing for further treatment. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation by MMEA, Suhaizan Saadin stated.
In a similar incident on Aug 17 near Pulau Tinggi, an explosion occurred on a fishing boat’s deck, resulting in one fatality and two injuries.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
