Body of second missing fisherman found

KUALA TERENGGANU: The body of a second fisherman, who went missing on Wednesday, was found about 20 nautical miles from Pulau Kapas, Marang, near here, today.

Terengganu Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Maritime captain Muhammad Suffi Mohd Ramli said the body of Ja'afar Sulong, 66, was found by local fishermen at 10 am during a search and rescue (SAR) operation.

"The body was taken by the Maritime Ship (KM) Nusa to the Terengganu Maritime Jetty before being sent to the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital (HSNZ) for further action," he said in a statement today.

Last Wednesday, Ja'afar and Baharudin Abdullah, 47, failed to return after setting out to sea and could not be contacted.

Baharudin's body was found on Thursday during the SAR operation for the duo.

Muhammad Suffi said they are conducting another SAR to find fisherman Wan Mohd Sufian Wan Abdul Rahman, 34, who went missing in a separate incident on Thursday.

He said the search was being conducted using KM Nusa, an AW139 aircraft and aided by State Fisheries Department assets and the local fishing community.

"The SAR is co-ordinated by the Kuantan Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC). The search sector has also been expanded to 492.72 nautical square miles covering the waters of Kuala Terengganu and Marang," he said.

Wan Mohd Sufian is feared to have gone missing at sea after going out fishing on Thursday at 6.30 am. His boat, with the engine still running, was found by a fisherman about 10.1 nautical miles off the Terengganu coast.

-- BERNAMA