Tourist divers 'struck' by fish bomb shockwave
Published on: Saturday, February 01, 2020
By: Stefyanie Myla Micheal
Two suspects seen cruising in their pump-boats off Pulau Gaya.
Kota Kinabalu: Two fish bombers sought by marine police were caught in the act – but only because of video clips made by a dive instructor.Marine Police seized a pump boat belonging to a suspect following fish bombings witnessed by a group of tourist divers in Pulau Gaya, Wednesday.
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Sabah Region 4 Marine Police Force (MPF) Commander, ACP Mohamad Pajeri Ali said they launched an operation to look for a group of fish bombers involved in the incident.
“Two patrol boats and 15 personnel as well as the Marine Intelligent Unit (URM) were deployed.
“We seized a boat and are still looking for another suspect,” he said, adding a full report will follow.
The minute-long video posted on Facebook by someone called Dive Ranger showed two adults cruising on a pump boat near Pulau Gaya at 3.05pm. A group of nine tourist divers were about to do a three-minute safety stop when they were struck by shock waves.ADVERTISEMENT.jpg)
According to dive instructor Cindy Valton George, they were diving at the Turtle House dive spot at 7-metre depth when they felt a strong shockwave underwater.
“We were lucky none of our eardrums burst or that we passed out underwater because the explosion was very loud.
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“Upon surfacing, we saw two suspicious-looking men each on a pump boat having detonated explosives about 500 metres from our location.
“Our dive boat captain stayed close to the pump boats that were fish bombing while reporting to Sabah Parks.
Cindy said they could see dead fish floating as they got closer and the suspects quickly left after noticing them and went towards the water village in Pulau Gaya.
“When we surfaced, our divers were shocked and said ‘this is terrible and dangerous. We never experienced anything like that before’,” he said, adding that their guests were from China, United States, Sweden, Czech Republic and India.
WATCH VIDEO OF FISH BOMBERS
Cindy, a Padi instructor for six years now, said such explosions happened daily and repeatedly.
“We are aware fish blasting could jeopardise our lives. We have become accustomed to the sound of explosions, but not the tourists.
“Every time we heard an explosion, we report it immediately to authorities,” he said adding that the dive community usually reported it directly in a WhatsApp group which includes relevant authorities. Jude Junius a freelance diver said Sabah Parks cannot be giving excuses for not taking any action.
“We are paying a marine park conservation fee. So there’s no reason to say they don’t have enough assets and staff.
“We have been asking them to do frequent patrols just like every other marine park, but nothing has been done.
“Imagine how many divers and tourists are putting themselves in danger diving in a supposedly protected Marine Park,” he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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