WE are all saddened by the latest Belaga boat tragedy where 23 passengers returning home for the Gawai harvest festival were feared to have drowned after an overloaded express boat capsized after hitting a boulder in the middle of Balui River in the Belaga district in Central Sarawak.
The boat was reported to have carried 204 passengers when it was only allowed its official capacity of 74.
The main contributory cause to the tragedy was clearly overloading which exceeded the permitted capacity.
The other reason was perhaps the boat was racing past rapids and dangerous torrents in the raging Balui river.
In October 2010, an express boat tragedy occurred in Tatau, Bintulu, which claimed 13 lives.
Obviously the safety issues and lessons from that incident had not been taken seriously by the boat operators and we are now faced with another tragedy.
Overloading of passengers and goods is a perennial problem in the express boat service which is a popular mode of transportation in Sarawak.
Boat operators must always be conscious and responsible for the safety of their passengers.
They must never compromise safety for profit as they have a duty of care in ensuring the safety of each and every passenger.
As for the passengers themselves, they are also responsible for their own safety.
They should not get into the boat when it has exceeded its capacity.
I send my deepest condolences to the families of those who perished while I hope that the remaining survivors can still be found.
Steps have to be taken to prevent more boat tragedies.
There should be more patrolling by Sarawak Rivers Board along the rivers to enforce the riverine regulations and safety laws on passenger load and other requirements.
There should be more efforts to educate passengers to avoid crowded boats.
The other safety measure is to ensure that all passengers wear life jackets throughout the riverine journey.
What is also important is self-regulation for one’s own safety. We must always be mindful of safety.
One life lost is too many. It is my sincere hope that the authorities, boat operators and passengers will learn from the bitter lesson of this latest tragedy.
Think Safe, Act Safe and Be Safe all the time.TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE
NIOSH Chairman
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