7 Facts You Should Know About The Tanjung Karang Boat Tragedy That Killed A Family Of 7
Seven members of a family including a 27-year-old wanting the Hindu sea god's blessings for her engagement drowned on Thursday when their overloaded fishing boat sprung a leak and sank three nautical miles from Bagan Sungai Kajang beach.
By Sadho Ram — 20 Jul 2015, 07:12 AM
1. Last week, 16 July, a fishing boat carrying 14 people capsized after being hit by waves two nautical miles off Tanjung Karang. According to a report by The Star, the boat sprung a leak and began to sink while it was heading back to land at about 5pm, Thursday.
A file photo of a Rescue effort at Tanjung Karang Beach after a collision between two high-speed boats.
Image via M Taufan SP Bustan2. The boat carrying 14 people, 9 of them family members and 5 boatmen, had set out from the Sungai Kajang fishermen's jetty at about 3pm for the sprinkling of a dead relative's ashes in the sea.
According to C. Sathyah, the boat started taking on water while passengers were engaged in the religious ceremony. “‘Most of us were sitting on one side of the boat which caused it to tilt and take in some more water. We tried to bail water out but to no avail as the boat continued to sink,’ he said.
themalaymailonline.com
3. 7 people were rescued by fishermen soon after the boat sank. Those rescued were identified as P. Alumalai; M. Sugamaran; V. Nagaswari; N. Sanmugan; C. Sabtayan; C. Sundraja and S. Partiven.
Gnanasegaran being consoled by family members at the Tanjung Karang jetty.
Image via The Malaymail Online4. On 17 July, 12 fire and rescue personnel who were deployed to the area recovered the bodies of 3 women and a man while fishing vessels rescued six men and a woman. 3 men were still missing.
A member of the Fire and Rescue operations conducting SAR in waters around Bagan Pasir Tanjung Karang.
Image via Faiz Anuar/Berita Harian OnlineRescuers found the bodies of Muniamah Andy, 49, Logaraj Kunasegaran, 29, Gnaswdree Mooken, 59 and Jaya Sangari Ganasegaran, 27 hours after the incident.
thestar.com.my5. Next day, authorities retrieved 2 more bodies of the tragedy, bringing the total number of bodies found to 6. One of the body was found 2 kilometres away from the location where the boat capsized.
Fire and Rescue Department officers handling the body of a victim of the boat tragedy.
Image via The Star/ANNThe body of A. Parianathan, 30, was found at 11.45am along the shore behind the General Operations Force camp in Bagan Pasir here, said the Selangor Fire and Rescue department. Five others who drowned were M. Kunasegaran, 57; A. Muniamah, 49; K. Logaraj, 29; M. Gnaswdree, 59; and G. Jaya Sangari, 27.
6. On Sunday, 19 July, the body of the 7th and final victim was recovered by rescuers at about 2.58pm. Identified as Shankar Gunasegaran, aged 24, his body had washed ashore in Parit 4, Sekinchan, some 10km from where the boat capsized on Thursday.
Selangor Fire and Rescue assistant director Mohd Sani Harul said Ravi Shankar’s body was found caught in some mangrove about eight nautical miles from the spot where the boat sank. It had been sent to the Tanjong Karang Hospital and the search operation was terminated at 4pm, he said.
theborneopost.com
7. The 14 people onboard the boat only had 2 life jackets between them. Kuala Selangor police chief said they're investigating claims that the boat was not in good enough condition to be taken out to sea and that the man at the helm was not qualified for the task.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Assistant Director, Mohd Sani Harul, said the boat could have sank as it was leaning to one side during the ritual. “We have gathered information that the boat was listing heavily towards one side when the ritual took place. At this time, a lot of water entered the boat after which the situation worsened as it was hit by waves,” he said.
themalaymailonline.com
Meanwhile, Nageshwari Oorvijayan, age 22, one of the 7 who survived the boat tragedy on Thursday in Tanjung Karang, never expected her first boat ride will end in tragedy, Bernama reported
"We did not think such catastrophe will occur. We were just chatting and joking," said Nageshwari who had gone with the others to scatter ashes of a dead relative and perform a religious ceremony out at sea.
She said on the way they had asked the skipper of the boat to stop because of the strong waves and some of us got worried that something bad might happen. However, the boatman and his three aides suggested we proceed to the centre of the sea to conduct the prayers at a pole jutting out of the sea, she said.
"We just followed what they said ... we did not know what to do as this is the first time we went there," she told reporters when met at the residence of her uncle M. Kunasegaran who drowned in the incident.
Recounting her experience, she said the distance from the pier to the scene of the religious ceremony was only about half an hour ride and the incident occurred when the boat was on its way back
"On the way back, I asked my sister to snap pictures of me washing my face with a smile looking at the camera ... all of a sudden the water started to enter the boat ... the boat split in two. We began to sink.
"We all screamed for help. I asked my cousin brother to save my mother, but when the other fishing boats arrived, I did not seen my cousin, he was gone," she said, adding that her mother A. Muniamah, 49, also drowned in the incident.
Nageshwari who was not wearing a life jacket held on to a white float and stayed afloat for over an hour before being rescued by another fishing boat. According to Nageshwari her cousin Jeya Sankari, 27, who drowned in the incident, was supposed to go to Johor Baharu to meet her fiancee on Monday as she was supposed to get married next year.
Speaking to reporters after visiting the family of M. Kunasegaran, who drowned in the tragedy and making a personal contribution, Health Minister Dr. S. Subramaniam said the casualties in the boat tragedy was due to the passengers not wearing safety jackets
"If they were wearing life jackets, the matter could have been averted," he said.
bernama.com.my