Search for survivors of Malaysia shipwreck expanded

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By CGTN’s Jin Yingqiao

Malaysian officials said on Wednesday that the search area was further expanded for the people missing after a boat accident off the coast of Malaysia, despite more than 72 hours having passed.

“We hope they are still alive,” a Malaysian police chief said.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the search area would expand to 3,900 square nautical miles to cover waters off Sabah, in neighboring Brunei. Some 20 aircraft and ships are set to join the search.

Medics transport a survivor at a jetty in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian Borneo state of Sabah on January 30, 2017. /CFP Photo

Following the shipwreck on Saturday, three Chinese tourists were confirmed dead. Six people remain missing, including five Chinese tourists and one crew member. Twenty Chinese tourists were rescued as well as two crewmen.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing. It is looking into key points such as whether the boat was overloaded and whether it was operating legally. One fact that has been confirmed is that the port where the boat left wasn't a legitimate base for tourist boats.

Police coastguards escort Chinese tourists rescued after their boat sank off the coast of Borneo, at a port in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia early on January 30, 2017. /CFP Photo

Sabah Police Commissioner Ramli Din said: "The police have established three teams for this purpose. One team is to investigate the sudden death report of the three of the tourists that passed away; another team to look at our investigation pertaining to the negligence that has caused the deaths.”

“So another team is our liaison officers, whereby for each and every one of the victim, we have one liaison officer to take care of the welfare and everything," the police officer added.

Sabah Police Commissioner Ramli Din. /CGTN Photo‍

On the search boat, four hours of searching yielded nothing. And as waves strengthened it had to return.

The captain recalled the night he helped rescue survivors of the boat accident.

"When the rescued Chinese tourists made it to land, I felt bad seeing them injured. We will keep searching until we find the missing people. I hope they are not harmed when we see them."