Singapore Coast Guard Rescues Four
At about 2.53am on 19 April 2018, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) received a report that five persons had gone overboard from a boat, about 0.7 nautical mile northeast of Pedra Branca, the coordinates being Latitude 01˚ 20.5’N and Longitude 104˚ 24.5’E, within Singapore territorial waters. [Please refer to the attached map on the incident location.]
Personnel and assets from the Singapore Police Coast Guard (PCG) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) were immediately deployed for search and rescue (SAR) operations. In addition, MPA has issued navigational broadcasts for ships to look for the missing person.
Of the five, four were rescued by the PCG and the RSN. One person is still unaccounted for. The four who were rescued are Indonesians. According to those rescued, there were a total of 108 persons comprising men, women and children on board the boat. The remaining 103 persons are safe on board the boat. All the 107 persons have been transferred to an Indonesian Marine Police vessel and conveyed back to Batam.
Singapore is co-ordinating the SAR operations with the Indonesia authorities.