MIRI: A fish storage container saved four fishermen a er their boat sank about 50 nautical miles from the mouth of Miri River in the early morning of Jan 30.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Miri director Mohd Shafie Paing said all the victims were found safe around 10am Saturday a er spending six days adri .

“They were picked up by a passing boat approximately 75 nautical miles from the mouth of Miri River at about 10am yesterday (Feb 4).

“The four victims, aged between 25 and 44, were then transferred to MMEA vessel KM Tabah and were taken to the Marine Bay je y here using a fast-response boat for further action,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Upon their arrival at the je y at 6pm, the victims were given a checkup by Ministry of Health personnel and later taken to Miri Hospital for treatment.

“The victims were in a weak state due to dehydration,” said Mohd Shafie.

According to him, the victims had been fishing at sea since Jan 29 and that their boat sank early Jan 30 a er being struck by waves.

In this regard, Mohd Shafie reminded the maritime community to ensure their boats are in good condition and to cancel any plan to go out to sea in the event of bad weather.

“If there is an urgent need to go to sea, always wear a life jacket and carry a personal locater beacon (PLB) device to facilitate the rescue team to go the emergency location,” he said.

Any emergency situation at sea can be reported to the Miri Maritime Zone Operations Centre on 085-418204, or Sarawak Maritime Operations Centre on 082-432544 or 082432016, or MERS 999.