Dumai-Malacca ferry crew rescues 11 people floating near Indonesian maritime border

   August 16, 2023 ,   Accidents

The crew of a ferryboat on the Dumai-Malacca route successfully rescued 11 foreigners who were found floating in the sea. The Captain of the ferry, named Indomal Kingdom Express and aged 38, promptly notified the police upon spotting the group on the maritime border between Sumatra Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Captain took immediate action to save all 11 individuals and transported them to the ferry terminal in Malacca City. During the arrival at around 1:30 pm on Tuesday (August 15th), it was observed that one of the 11 victims was experiencing breathing difficulties and had to be urgently taken to Melaka Hospital.

According to Christopher Patit (Malacca Tengah OCPD Assistant Commander), the Captain filed a report on the same day detailing the incident. As per the report, the 11 individuals were discovered adrift at ~12:00 pm on the same day while the ferry was en route across the Straits of Malacca from Dumai to Malacca.

The rescued individuals, all of Indonesian nationality, were between the ages of 25 and 51. ACP Christopher Patit mentioned that investigations are ongoing to determine whether these individuals were involved in a capsized boat incident. He noted that the police would attempt to gather more information from the victims, considering they were rescued within the boundaries of Indonesian waters.

Presently, all 11 individuals have been referred to the Malacca Immigration Department for further processing and handling.