2 Chinese rescued more than 50 hours after dredger capsized

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Two Chinese sailors have been rescued more than 50 hours after their sand dredger capsized off Malaysia's southern coast, a maritime official said Saturday.

Three more bodies were also discovered, leaving nine others still missing.

Divers heard knocking sounds and found the two sailors in the ship's engine room on Friday, apparently trapped in an air pocket that had kept them alive after the vessel overturned on Wednesday, said coast guard official Sanifah Yusof.

They were weak and dehydrated and have been hospitalized, he said.

Their rescue raised hopes there may be others still alive, he said, adding that air is being pumped into the ship to help possible survivors.

Sanifah said rescuers also discovered a body floating near the vessel and two more, including a woman inside the ship, on Saturday. He said this brought the death toll to four and left nine others, including a Malaysian and an Indonesian, unaccounted for.

Sanifah said a team of Chinese divers had joined the search operation and that rescue efforts had been intensified.

He said the submerged vessel was moved closer to shore and stabilized to prevent it from sinking. </s> The sailors were rescued 50 hours after the dredger capsized

Two Chinese sailors have been rescued more than 50 hours after their sand dredger capsized off Malaysia's southern coast.

Divers heard knocking sounds and found the two sailors in the ship's engine room on Friday.

Coastguard official Sanifah Yusof said they were trapped in an air pocket that had kept them alive after the vessel overturned on Wednesday.

He said they were weak and dehydrated and are now being treated in hospital.

The rescue has fuelled hopes that others may still be alive and Mr Sanifah said that air is being pumped into the ship to help anyone who may still be in there.

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Image: A team of divers joined the rescue efforts

Four people are known to have died and nine others are still missing after the dredger went down near the state of Johor.

Rescue teams discovered a body floating near the vessel on Saturday, and two more inside the ship.

A team of Chinese divers joined the search operation and rescue efforts had been intensified.

The submerged vessel has been moved closer to shore and stabilised to stop it from sinking. </s> Two Chinese sailors have been rescued more than 50 hours after their sand dredger capsized off Malaysia's southern coast.

Divers heard knocking sounds and found the two sailors in the ship's engine room on Friday.

Coastguard official Sanifah Yusof said they were trapped in an air pocket that had kept them alive after the vessel overturned on Wednesday.

He said they were weak and dehydrated and are now being treated in hospital.

Aerial photo provided by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency shows the capsized sand dredger in the waters off southern Malaysian state of Johor, 22-03-2018. Image: MMEA/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images

The rescue has fuelled hopes that others may still be alive and Mr Sanifah said that air is being pumped into the ship to help anyone who may still be in there.

Four people are known to have died and nine others are still missing after the dredger went down near the state of Johor.

Rescue teams discovered a body floating near the vessel on Saturday, and two more inside the ship.

A team of Chinese divers joined the search operation and rescue efforts have been intensified.

The submerged vessel has been moved closer to shore and stabilised to stop it from sinking. </s> KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - An official says two Chinese sailors have been rescued more than 50 hours after their sand dredger capsized off Malaysia's southern coast.

Three more bodies were also discovered, leaving nine others still missing.

Coast guard official Sanifah Yusof says divers found the two sailors in the ship's engine room on Friday, apparently trapped in an air bubble that had kept them alive after the vessel overturned on Wednesday.

In This Friday, March 23, 2018, photo, a rescue team carries an unidentified Chinese national who was rescued from a capsized sand-dredging vessel in Parit Jawa, Muar, Malaysia. The Chinese sand-dredger had capsized off the country's southern coast Wednesday, killing a crew member and leaving over a dozen others missing. (AP Photo/Chong)

Sanifah says rescuers also discovered a body floating near the vessel and two more, including a woman inside the ship, on Saturday. He says this brought the death toll to four and left nine others, including a Malaysian and an Indonesian, unaccounted for. </s> KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — An official says two Chinese sailors have been rescued more than 50 hours after their sand dredger capsized off Malaysia’s southern coast.

Three more bodies were also discovered, leaving nine others still missing.

Coast guard official Sanifah Yusof says divers found the two sailors in the ship’s engine room on Friday, apparently trapped in an air bubble that had kept them alive after the vessel overturned on Wednesday.

Sanifah says rescuers also discovered a body floating near the vessel and two more, including a woman inside the ship, on Saturday. He says this brought the death toll to four and left nine others, including a Malaysian and an Indonesian, unaccounted for. </s> Two Chinese sailors were rescued alive Friday from the engine room of a sand dredger two days after the vessel capsized off Malaysia, while 12 others remain missing, an official said.

[KUALA LUMPUR] Two Chinese sailors were rescued alive Friday from the engine room of a sand dredger two days after the vessel capsized off Malaysia, while 12 others remain missing, an official said.

The rescued crew were "conscious but weak", said coastguard official Sanifah Yusof, after being trapped in the JBB Rong Chang 8 since it overturned Wednesday.

Twelve other sailors - 10 Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesian - remain missing.

One Chinese sailor was killed and three others were rescued alive when the Chinese-owned boat first flipped over.

The boat had stayed afloat despite capsizing and hopes were raised that some of the missing had survived after divers heard sounds from inside the hull.

Divers rescued the two Chinese sailors on Friday afternoon, said Mr Sanifah.

"We found two victims who are alive, they are Chinese citizens, and they were taken to Muar hospital," he told AFP. Muar is a coastal town close to where the accident happened.

"We still have hope that everybody is alive," he said, adding the rescue operation would continue into the evening.

It was not clear what caused the accident and the weather in the area was fine at the time.

Dredging sand from coastal areas is a booming and lucrative business. The sand is shipped to wealthy land-scarce areas such as Singapore for reclamation and construction work.

But environmentalists have long argued that the practice damages local communities and ecosystems.

Last year two foreign vessels manned by Chinese crew were seized off Malaysia's west coast for allegedly conducting illegal sand-dredging. </s> The multi-agency search and rescue team brings in one of the two survivors of the capsized JBB Rong Chang 8 sand dredger to shore at the Pantai Leka fishing jetty in Parit Jawa, Muar March 23, 2018. ― Picture courtesy of MMEAMUAR, March 23 ― The multi-agency search and rescue (SAR) team found two survivors from the capsized sand dredger off Tanjung Tohor near here this afternoon.

The injured victims, both Chinese nationals, were rescued by SAR divers from the capsized Chinese JBB Rong Chang 8 sand dredger, about 12 nautical miles from Tanjung Tohor.

Muar Fire and Rescue Department chief Marzuki Ismail said the first victim arrived at the Pantai Leka fishing jetty in Parit Jawa at 3.34pm, followed by another at 4pm.

“The first survivor has been identified as Liu Kongsan, 47, while the other is Liang Fu Zen, 62.

“Both the survivors were handed over to the medical authorities and were sent to the Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital here for treatment,” he told Malay Mail.

At press time, there was still no information on the condition of the survivors.

The SAR operation, led by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), is still ongoing for the 12 other missing male crew members, who are feared to have drowned.

The SAR team has requested lighting support for the evening segment of the ongoing operation.

Yesterday, Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and private company divers while searching for the missing crewmen overnight had heard knocking sounds from inside the vessel, JBB Rong Chang 8, about 12 nautical miles from Tanjung Tohor.

On Wednesday, the SAR team found one dead crewman and rescued three others who were injured following the capsizing of the vessel that had 18 crewmen, one of them a Malaysian and 17 foreigners, on board.

The victims were earlier on board a marine sand dredge before it capsized at 8.50am on the same day.

The Chinese-owned JBB Rong Chang 8 is a Dominican-registered marine sand dredger measuring at 86 metres-long, with a 6,200 gross tonnage. The hopper-designed marine dredger was commissioned in 2016. </s> JAKARTA: A boat carrying Indonesian workers home from Malaysia capsized in stormy weather Wednesday, and police said at least 20 people died and 39 have been rescued.

About 90 people were on the vessel that capsized off the island of Batam about 5 a.m, Batam police chief Sambudi Gusdian said. The search effort underway for hours has rescued 39 survivors so far.

The passengers are Indonesians who work in Malaysia.

Haryanto, a 51-year-old survivor, said the speedboat capsized amid heavy rains and high waves about two hours after it left Johor Bahru in Malaysia. </s> A group of rescue divers died in Malaysia after being caught up in a deadly whirlpool as they tried to save a teenager who had fallen in a mining pool.

The men drowned on Wednesday after a strong current gushed into the search area in the central Malaysian town of Puchong. According to Sepang Assistant Commissioner Abdul Aziz Ali, initial investigations found the group of divers had been in the water searching for the 17-year-old teenager for nearly five minutes when the tragedy started to unfold.

Heavy rain in the area earlier raised water levels in the pool and resulted in strong undercurrents. The rescuers formed a human chain and tied themselves together with rope to buoys.

“Suddenly, a strong current came gushing into the area causing them to be dragged further down and got tangled by the rope that connected them,” Ali said, the New Strait Times reported.

The victims were identified as: Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34, Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32, Mazlan Omarbaki, 25, Yahya Ali, 24, Adnan Othman, 33, and Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25.

The rescuers were reportedly seen struggling by a team on the banks but they were dragged down by the vortex too fast for them to do anything.

Almost half an hour passed before the first body was recovered. By this point all six divers were unresponsive, Ali said.

The team, according to Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid, “immediately” took action as they pulled the bodies out.

Emergency procedures were attempted but it was “too late”, Wahid added.

The search for the boy was said to resume on Thursday morning. The teenager is believed to have fallen in the pond while fishing on its banks with two friends.

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Two men are rescued from a capsized dredger off Malaysia after 50 hours in an air pocket in the engine room. The death toll so far is nine, with rescue efforts underway to search for more survivors.