All 22 passengers from the boat which capsized off Pulau Mantanani on Thursday were found alive and well, according to a news report by The Star Online.
Despite being exhausted and badly shaken from the 16-hour ordeal, the victims were in high spirits after the rescue, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sabah and Labuan regional director First Admiral Mohd Zubil Mat Som told the news portal.
After being rescued, they were immediately put under medical observation at the Kota Belud hospital.
“At daybreak, one of our search craft Penyelamat 10 – found the capsized boat but there were no occupants around it. We were worried.
“But at about 8.10am the police Air Wing’s Cessna aircraft spotted the group floating in waters off Tanjung Dudar (about 24km north of Pulau Mantanani). A marine police boat picked them up an hour later,” Mohd Zubil was quoted as saying.
On Thursday, the boat carrying 12 Chinese nationals, four boatmen, four local Mantanani residents and two tourist guides went missing after it sprung a leak off Kota Belud.
