[NEW UPDATE] Rajang Boat Tragedy: 2 Men Claim They Were Passengers

Two men have lodged police reports in Kapit claiming they were passengers and lost belongings and documents in the express boat tragedy in Sungai Rajang last Tuesday.

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Belaga district police chief DSP Bakar Sebau said the reports were received this morning but police have to verify their authenticity before putting their names in the list of survivors.

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"We have received two new reports on loss of belongings and documents in the boat tragedy but have to verify them for fear people might take opportunity.

"The number of survivors so far is 205, two are still missing and one body had been found," he told reporters here tonight.

Bakar warned that legal action will be taken against those who make false police reports claiming to passengers of the express boat.

The raising of the sunken express boat Kawan Mas from the Balui River is now being given the highest priority.

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Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said they had already mobilised bulldozers and cranes to the site of the incident to help with the ongoing operation to extract the ill-fated vessel.

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Paulus Ungkang, one of three passengers in the Sungai Rajang boat capsize tragedy still reported missing until yesterday, was today confirmed to be safe in the incident.

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Belaga district police chief, DSP Bakar Sebau said this was confirmed by a relative of Paulus who lived in Belaga.

"This morning, Paulus had from Sibu, phoned his relative that he was safe.

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Bakar said with this information, 205 passengers were save in the incident, one body, that of Tujok Lah, was found while two were still missing. They are Roslin Jati and Maurice Ajan

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Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has ordered the relevant authorities to carry out a detailed investigation to determine the cause of the express boat tragedy in Sungai Rajang, Sarawak on Tuesday.

“I have ordered a thorough investigation on the tragedy and I call on all ferry operators to always be responsible,” he said in a Facebook posting.

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"I am most saddened by the tragedy in Sungai Rajang, Sarawak. All Malaysians sympathised with the families of the victims who died in the tragedy. We always pray for the safety of everyone," he said.

Effective immediately, only Belaga district police chief, DSP Bakar Sebau can issue statistics of express boat victims who survived and are still missing in the tragedy in Sungai Rajang on Tuesday.

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Earlier, Bakar said until today, the number of survivors stood at 186, while 12 are still missing and one body was found.

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However there was confusion as two victims reported missing are safe at Berundang Longhouse, Nanga Ensawi, about two hour boat ride from Kapit.

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Longhouse folks living at Rh Tevok recovered the body of Tujok Lah at 7am Thursday not far from where an express boat capsized. He was earlier thought to be alive and his name was listed under the survivor list.

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Belaga state assemblyman Liwan Lagang said the search-and-rescue operation resumed at 7am and efforts were being made to haul the ill-fated boat out of the water to look for trapped passengers.

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Kapit Resident Dahim Nadot had said that any bodies found would be sent to the Bintulu Hospital for a post-mortem. As of 9:30pm last night, officials said 10 passengers, including Tujok, were listed as missing.

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The boats are still being overloaded with people and goods a day after one capzised along Balui river leaving 14 people still missing. And the rush home for the weekend Gawai celebrations has added pressure on the situation.

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Due to demand, ticket prices have doubled and while most passengers were aware of Tuesday's (28 May) tragedy, they said they had no choice but to take the river boat.

Reports describe the scene with parents carrying babies and passengers bringing at least 2 bags on board the boat; a heavy generator set was also seen among the belongings. Officials from the Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) were helpless to control the situation.

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“The express boat is our only mode of transport to reach home,” said Chandie Patan, 50 who was waiting to depart for Baleh with some 30 family members. She was furious having to pay RM30 per ticket when the normal price is RM15.

“Around 21 people have not been accounted for,” he said.

The boat was ferrying passengers traveling for this coming weekend’s Gawai festival, one of the most important festivals celebrated each year by Sarawak’s indigenous Dayak people.

Contacted by Bernama, he said the “Bakun Mas Express Boat” passed by Belaga at 8am. It had come from Bakun much earlier. Its passengers were timber camp and timber, and oil palm plantation workers in the area.

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He said the boat was ferrying passengers from Bakun to Kapit when it sank at Giam Bungan Rapid, just down Belaga town.

The accident occurred on Malaysia's longest river, the Rajang, which flows from deep in the rugged interior of Borneo island in the state of Sarawak, Bakar Anak Sebau, police chief of the remote town of Belaga, told AFP.

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He added it was on its way to Kapit and Sibu when it crashed onto rock in the Rajang River after about 40 minutes of leaving Belaga town.

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Abdul Halim Abdullah, the state government's local administrator for Belaga, told AFP the boat capsized downstream from the town as it was headed toward the coast.

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He said the boat was believed to have struck a rock while navigating downstream from Belaga through one of many sections of rapids on the 560-kilometre (347-mile) waterway.

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BERNAMA reported Kapit district councillor Daniel Levoh saying that the boat was believed to have carried more than 100 passengers, although its official load capacity was for 67 seated passengers.

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"An express boat carrying about 100 people has capsized in a swift-flowing river. I believe there were women and children onboard. The boat was overloaded," he said.
Bakar said the boat's capacity was 74 people.

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"The boat was supposed to have made the normal transit stop at Belaga but it did not do so as it was already packed. "Many passengers were seen sitting on its roof which is not allowed.

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The express boat was extremely packed with timber camp, oil palm and timber plantation workers returning home for the Gawai Dayak festival this weekend, according to Betek.

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"The authorities are investigating whether the boat was overloaded or otherwise when it sank," Liwan, who is also an Assistant Minister of Tourism and Culture, told theSun.

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The Sun newspaper had earlier quoted another Sarawak official as saying 20 to 30 people may be trapped in the vessel.

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“Casualties are unknown, but survivors are taking refuge at the longhouses,” said Liwan.

Other rescue teams from the Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence, Police and Sarawak Rivers Board are now at the scene.

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He added when the boat crashed onto a rock in the area, the passengers were able to swim to the banks.

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Residents from nearby longhouses, Uma Tevok and Uma Tanjong were the first to help rescued the passengers.

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