THREE fishermen who were reported missing since Sunday after they set out from Pangkalan Sungai Tembus, Penaga to go fishing, managed to survive on water.

The victims, Muhammad Firdaus Shamsudin, 34, Afzanizul Zakaria, 44, and Ruzaini Saad, 43, were rescued by fellow fishermen after their boat ran out of fuel, leaving them stranded at sea.

The three had gone out to fish at 5am and should have returned to the jetty before noon today.

Their boat then went adrift until it reached the waters of Langkawi, Kedah before the men were rescued.

Recounting the moment, Afzanizul said the boat suddenly ran out of fuel on the way to the jetty. At the same time, food supply was also depleted because they usually went to the sea for about six to seven hours.

“We only had water on us and we did not see any other boats nearby. We prayed for safety,” he added.

He said they also had to endure a storm that occurred at midnight by lying still, adding that they could only pray that the boat would not capsize due to the big waves.

“Alhamdulillah, fortunately, yesterday another boat saw us and helped us back to the jetty today,” he said when met at the Pangkalan Sungai Tembus Jetty in Kepala Batas today.

His friend, Ruzaini said they tried to contact other friends using their mobile phones while they were stranded but was unable to as there was no connection, adding that by this time they left their fate to God.

“We are very thankful to the fishermen who helped,” he said, adding that this was his first experience of being adrift at sea in almost 10 years of working as a fisherman.

Seberang Perai Utara district police chief Mohd Radzi Ahmad said the three fishermen flew a red flag to get help and were sent to the Kepala Batas Hospital for a medical check-up. – Bernama, March 22, 2022.