17 Indonesian sailors rescued near Penang

17 Indonesian sailors rescued near Penang

PENANG, Malaysia (AFP): Seventeen Indonesian crew were rescued by local fishermen yesterday after their cargo vessel sank during a storm off Malaysia's northern island of Penang late Friday.

Police said a trawler found the Indonesians clinging to two rafts made from life buoys, plastic water bottles and life jackets, at 2 a.m. yesterday, several miles off Penang island.

On reaching the island, the crew, aged 17 to 42 years, were taken to the police district headquarters to alert the authorities who had already resumed their search at daybreak Sunday.

District police chief superintendent Tan Seng Eng said all the crew had been accounted for after earlier reports said there were 18 on board.

More than 60 rescuers and five marine police patrol boats were engaged in the search for the crew and the 300-ton ship, the KM Kurnia Abadi. The ship has yet to be located.

The vessel, which was transporting timber, left northern Sumatra in Indonesia Thursday and was scheduled to dock at Penang port Friday night.

A distress signal was sent late Friday to the shipping agent in Penang.

Search efforts were hampered by rough seas and lack of information on the exact location of the vessel.