Kota Kinabalu: One man died while another remains missing after a boat capsized in waters between Sepanggar and Pulau Gaya on Monday.
The Fire and Rescue Department said it received a call from the Kota Kinabalu District Police Headquarters operations room regarding the incident at 9.47am.
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The incident was reported to have occurred at 5am when the victims were fishing in the waters there.
According to police reports, a man identified as Jeksin Eming, 40, is believed to have drowned after jumping into the sea to save his friend, Jaidin Eming, 30, who had fallen overboard following a collision with another boat.
Jeksin was brought onto a boat and taken to Likas Hospital but was pronounced dead at 4pm, while Jaidin has yet to be found and search operations are ongoing.
The Fire and Rescue Department deployed 10 personnel from the Kota Kinabalu Fire and Rescue Station, led by operations commander PBK I Asama Saruddin.
The team arrived at the scene at 9.56am, about 5km from the station.
Marine police and the Civil Defence Force (APM) also assisted in the operation with eight and seven personnel, respectively.
The search operation covered a three nautical mile radius but the missing victim has not been located.
Authorities said the search was suspended at 5.06pm and will resume this (Thursday) morning.
