The son of one of the victims who went missing after a fishing boat collided with a barge in Kemaman waters this morning is hopeful that his father will be found safely.

Mohd Azad, 37, from Raub, Pahang, expressed his disbelief that his father, Yusuf Kassam, 66, who went fishing with his friends, would meet such a tragic end.

He said his father, a retired police officer, left home around 10 am yesterday with two friends, Rosnawi Harun, 50 and Mat Ali Alahan, 66.

‘Ayah often went fishing in various places, making trips to Terengganu, especially during the squid season.

‘Before he left for Terengganu yesterday, he had breakfast with my mother, who is unwell and is wheelchair-bound,’ Mohd Azad said when met at Haji Pa Jetty, Kuala Kemaman here today.

Mohd Azad learned of his father’s disappearance from the owner of a homestay in Kemaman at about 11 am today.

He added that his mother last spoke to his father around 2.30 pm yesterday, just before he went out to sea at 4 pm.

Meanwhile, Rosnawi, a friend of
Yusuf, who survived the ordeal, recounted that he was asleep when a sudden loud bang woke him. The boat capsized, throwing them into the water.

‘I, along with a few others survived by clinging to two floating barrels. I also tried to hold onto my niece, Siti Zamimah Mohman Zobini.

‘Initially, I held her tightly because she couldn’t swim, but she became increasingly weak and eventually died,’ he said.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency