Boat mishap leaves 14 S.Korean tourists stranded in Tuaran

TUARAN - 16 individuals, including 14 South Korean tourists, were stranded for about four hours after their boat lodged in a nipah tree incident at Sungai Bolong on Thursday.

The boat, carrying nine women, four adult men, a child and two boat drivers, encountered the incident around 9:30pm.

Tuaran Fire and Rescue Station chief, Mohd Abd Qawie Abdul Gapar said the department received a distress call about the incident at 9:50pm.

"Ten firemen responded to the scene, located seven kilometers away from Tuaran Fire Station.

According to reports, the tourist boat became stuck on a nipah tree due to the strong current of the river at the time.

The firefighters successfully transferred all the tourists and boat drivers to the river bank using the assistance of local villagers' boats.

They were then handed over to the responsible tourism company for further assistance.

He said that all the victims were reported to be safe.

"The firemen then ended the operation at 12.57am after making sure there was no other danger at the location," he said.