Rickety boat, faulty lifevests: survivors recount Malaysia boat nightmare

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It took just three minutes for a boat carrying some 30 people, mostly Chinese tourists, to capsize after it broke down off the coast of Malaysia’s Sabah state on Saturday, as a Spring Festival holiday turned nightmarish, a victim told CCTV.

Yang Yaoru was one of 22 people rescued from the water on Sunday, hours after their tourist boat, which had departed Kota Kinabalu for the island of Pulau Mengalum, took water and broke up. Three people died and five are still missing.

Yang Yaoru, survivor of Malaysian sunken boat that went missing on Saturday. /CCTV Photo

After the boat sank, a crew member helped the passengers link up to stay afloat and wait for rescue, Yang said.

“We shared food and water among us (in the sea)… everyone just drank a little sip, we were trying to save water for the children,” she said.

“The sea was so cold at night, we were all shaking,” she added, “but we did not let go of each others’ hands.”

The 24-year-old Jiangsu-born woman, who was traveling with her mother during the Spring Festival holiday, said the need to keep her mother alive kept her going.

“I had been holding her up to make sure she kept afloat… If I died, my mother wouldn’t be able to live through this accident, and if my mother was gone, I probably would collapse,” Yang said. “And how would I face my father?”

Police coast guards escort a Chinese tourist rescued after their boat sank off the coast of Borneo, Malaysia, January 30, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Knowing her father would ring the alarm back home kept her hopeful. Each night during their trip, Yang said she had called her dad to tell him she and her mother were safe: “once my father knew we were missing, he would call the Chinese embassy.”

Yang and her mother emerged relatively unscathed from the accident.

A file photo of the same boat that sank. /CCTV Photo

The Chinese Consulate General has been in close contact with Malaysian authorities to conduct search and rescue operations. Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded all-out efforts for the Chinese nationals on the boat and Premier Li Keqiang has pledged to inform the victims’ families about any progress in the rescue efforts.

Police coast guards escort Chinese tourists rescued after their boat sank off the coast of Borneo, Malaysia, January 30, 2017. /Reuters Photo

But another Chinese tourist who said she traveled on a similar boat from Pulau Mengalum on January 20, a week before the accident, hinted it could have been prevented.

Liu Yilun told CCTV she recognized one of the crew members from the sunken Malaysian boat and he had been on her trip.

During that outing, the boat also broke down, leaving her and other passengers isolated on the sea for seven hours, amid severe weather. .

Two crew members from the sunken boat who managed to alert the authorities about the accident. /CCTV Photo

According to Li, the passengers realized the boat had a problem due to the strong gas smell and “failed attempts to change gears,” but crew members ignored them.

“There were 26 Chinese people and four crew members, including several children, but only a few life vests,” Li said.

“There was no protection for us, only children had life vests on, and another adult who was violently sick.”

“There were no life signals sent out from the boat, neither did they have any flashlights,” Li added, noting “we had to shout for help.”

Yang Yaoru also mentioned faulty lifevests and lifebelts in her account.

This picture from January 20, 2017 appears to show Aman bin Abdul (circled), a crew member on Saturday's sunken boat. /Courtesy Li Yalun

Li, who had purchased her trip via a Chinese travel app, Mafengwo, and a Malaysian travel agency, Chaoziran, said she hoped there could be a way to verify the agencies and the products they sell.

“The travel agency only reimbursed me the 200 yuan (30 US dollars) that I paid for the boat trip,” Li said.

Li Yilun's photo shows crew members seeking help on January 20, 2017. /Courtesy Li Yilun

Sabah police chief Ramli Din said the boat’s captain has been arrested for manslaughter, together with the two crew members who were saved from the water on Sunday.

The head of the firm that owns the sunken boat has also been detained pending further investigation.

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