The bodies of two crew members from the sand barge that sank off Malaysia on 20 May have been found.
The body of Malaysian crew member Raja Mohammad Firdaus Raja Ikram was found at 03:45 h local time on 22 May by a search and rescue (SAR) team and was brought to Kampung Idaman mosque in Klang, Selangor, for burial.
Another body of a man believed to be one of the 14 victims was found floating by fishermen in the sea off Johor on 23 May, where the Bolivian-registered Ocean Line 208 barge later sank, according to Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in a statement. The body was brought to Marina Tanjung Pengelih jetty in Johor and was handed over to the police for further action, the statement added.
Chinese maritime vessels Hai Xun 31 and Dong Hai Jiu 101, which were en route to take part in the fourth disaster relief drill of the ASEAN regional forum, also joined the SAR operations after receiving instruction from China’s Ministry of Transport.
The barge was towed by Malaysian maritime officials to a position 12.9 km off Tanjung Pungai to carry out a search inside the vessel for the remaining missing crew members. Ten divers from the navy and police departments joined the SAR operations.
A Chinese crew member, identified as 51-year-old Li Guozheng, was rescued by a vessel passing by on 20 May.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
