Dungun: A fisherman was reported missing after his boat capsized in the waters off Pulau Tenggol near here yesterday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Kemaman Maritime Zone director Maritime Commander Abdul Halim Hamzah stated that the boat carrying the victim, Sabrie Rusli, 32, who was alone at the time, is believed to have capsized at about 5 pm. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) initiated a search and rescue operation (SAR) at 6.25 pm following information from the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre in Kuantan regarding the incident.

'The search operation, involving MMEA assets such as a CL415 aircraft, will be expanded according to weather conditions, currents and sea conditions to ensure the search area can be thoroughly covered,' he mentioned in a statement today. The SAR continued this morning, covering an area of 58.6 square nautical miles in the waters off Pulau Tenggol.

Meanwhile, Sabrie's wife, Amira Syahida Mat Hassan, 30, shared that her husband went out fishing alone in a fibreglass boat at 9 am yesterday and was expected to return in the afternoon. However, she received a call from Sabrie at 5.07 pm informing her that his boat had capsized while he was on his way back to shore.

She recounted that Sabrie also asked her to contact his brother for immediate assistance. Their conversation was abruptly cut off when her husband's voice became increasingly unclear before the line disconnected. 'At 5.27 pm, I tried calling my husband but could not get through, and I have not heard from him since,' she said when met at the Incident Control Centre in Kuala Dungun today.

Amira Syahida expressed her distress, revealing that Sabrie has been a fisherman for the past three years and this is the first time such an incident has occurred. 'I never imagined that something like this would happen. Now, all I can do is wait and pray that my husband will be found safe because the children are also still waiting for him to come home,' she said, noting that she is eight months pregnant with their fourth child.

Dungun district police chief Supt Nik Ab Halim Nik Mat reported that the search operation was being conducted intensively in the Kuala Dungun estuary waters. 'However, as of this afternoon, the victim has yet to be found, and the search operation is continuing,' he stated.