Express boat capsizes in Balui River, two bodies found so far (updated)

The Star

By PHILIP HII, ANDY CHUA and STEPHEN THEN

Location of the incident (marked in black).

BELAGA: An express boat, jam-packed with 204 people rushing to get home for the Dayak harvest festival of Gawai, capsized in the middle of the Balui river here with many feared dead, some 400km from Sibu.

The boat was carrying passengers three times the official seating capacity of 67, with many of them sitting on the roof.

It capsized after hitting a boulder in the middle of the raging Balui river in Belaga district in central Sarawak while plying the Bakun-Belaga-Kapit-Sibu route, in the mid-morning hours Tuesday.

Tragic incident: A photo of the overturned boat taken by Liwan.

As at 4pm Tuesday, a few dozen survivors had been rescued and it was said that two bodies had been recovered, including that of a pregnant woman.

A massive search and rescue operation involving the police, Fire and Rescue Department and volunteers from Belaga, Kapit and Bintulu and Sibu has been launched.

They are now attempting to locate the missing, some of whom are believed trapped beneath the capsized express boat, said Belaga state assemblyman Liwan Lagang.

Liwan, who is State Culture and Heritage Assistant Minister, said it is still unclear how many people were actually on board the express boat.

"The survivors said the incident happened while they were on their way from the upper reaches of the Balui River, not far from the Bakun Dam, to Kapit. They were about an hour from Belaga town when their boat capsized.

A picture said to be of the overloaded boat taken before it capsized.

"When the boat overturned, there were people still trapped inside.

"A search and rescue operation was started immediately after the authorities were alerted about the incident," said Liwan, who flew to the site to check on rescue operations and meet with survivors.

Local community leaders in the Belaga district have also joined in the search and rescue efforts.

Teams of young men from numerous riverine settlements are combing the riverbanks and downstream stretches.

On dry land: Some of the survivors who swam ashore looking out at the overturned vessel.

A community chief in Bakun, Penghulu Saging Bit, when contacted by The Star, said that the site of the tragedy is at a place called Giam Bungan.

"The place is between the Belaga and Kapit. There is a small stretch of rapids there.

"From what we have been told, the boat had started picking up people from the upper reaches of the Balui River not far from the Bakun Dam.

"The passengers were mostly local natives from the Kapit and Sibu Divisions working in various plantations near Bakun.

"Many of them are timber and oil palm workers. They wanted to go home for Gawai.

"The boat was said to have started the journey from upper Balui near the Bakun Dam at about 6am.

"By the time it reached the Belaga town area (at about 8am), it was already packed with people.

"About 30 minutes later, the incident happened. Some survivors said they felt the boat hitting something, and then it capsized.

A call to the Belaga police station revealed that almost all its personnel had rushed to the scene, including the police chief and his assistants.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported a total of 181 passengers managed to swim to safety while 23 others remain missing.

Belaga OCPD DSP Bakar Sebau said survivors were now sheltering at two longhouses not far from the site of the incident.

"We are still continuing with our search for those who are still missing," he said.

He said the incident occurred between 8.30am and 9.00am Tuesday after the express boat, Bakun Mas Express Boat, developed engine problems after hitting wood debris in the river.

The Balui River is a tributary of the Rajang River at a confluence near Belaga town and runs all the way to Kapit town and then Sibu town before entering the South China Sea.

Two years ago, 13 passengers died in a similar express boat tragedy in Tatau district near Bintulu town.