On of the victims being carried by rescue personnel
MERSING: Ten people, including two crew members, were injured when an explosion occurred on the boat they were on at 11.50am on Tuesday (Aug 22).
Mersing Zone Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Maritime Comm Suhaizan Saadin said the incident took place 7.6 nautical miles (14.07km) south-east of Pulau Pemanggil near here.
"They were on their way to Pulau Aur, located about 76.5km from the mainland of Mersing, when the explosion happened," he said in a statement.
Suhaizan said MMEA deployed its Perkasa 44 patrol boat which was on routine Ops Jaksa rounds, to the scene upon receiving a call from the Mersing Zone Maritime Operations Centre.
He said an on-site inspection found two female passengers suffered severe leg injuries while four other women suffered minor leg wounds.
"A male passenger was severely hurt on his legs and waist and another man suffered leg injuries," he said, adding that the two crewmen had light injuries.
He said the female passengers were Zeila Md Lazaam, 43; Nur Anis Shuhaiza Abdul Shukor, 28; Razila Affandi, 32; Norazimah Mohd Yasa, 48; Diyana Safarudin, 30; and Siti Hazerina Sheikh Abu Bakar, 46.
The two men were identified as Mohd Hasnizam Has, 31; and Azrul Azhar Yaman, 29; while the injured boat captain was Mohd Fadzli Mohamed, 27, and his assistant Muhamad Arif Ramadan Hazrani, 30.
"All victims received preliminary treatment before they were transferred to our patrol boat and boats belonging to local fishermen who were nearby," he said.
Suhaizan said the victims were sent to Hospital Mersing for further treatment and MMEA is still investigating to determine the cause of the explosion.
On Aug 17, an explosion occurred on the deck of a fishing boat near Pulau Tinggi which killed one victim and left two injured.
