A FIVE-day search for a missing crewman of a sunken fishing boat off Belawai in central Sarawak ended today after Fire and Rescue Department divers managed to retrieve his body from the vessel.

The search for Wong Pak Wei ran over days as divers found no trace of him during the recovery operation on the boat.

Five of the 30-year-old’s crewmates – two Malaysians, two Indonesians and a Myanmar national – were rescued, so it was thought Wong had managed to get off the ship. 

The rescue team then did a second sweep of the sunken boat and found Wong’s body trapped in the wheelhouse.

The boat sank at 10.35am on Tuesday some seven nautical miles west of Tanjung Jerijeh.

The recovery of the body today was conducted by seven divers from the Sg Merah fire station in Sibu.

By 10.58am, the recovery operation was complete and Wong’s body was transported via boat to the Tanjung Manis terminal, where Wong’s family members identified him. 

His body was then brought to Sibu Hospital for an autopsy. – April 8, 2023.