MORE PICS - 2 FERRIES COLLIDED Head-on; 14.5 Nm From Kuah Jetty; LANGKAWI During HEAVY THUNDERSTORM; 1 Dead; 13 INJURED (3 Serious)

UPDATE: Dec 2 06

Langkawi Ferries Collision Findings Will Be Made Public;

December 01, 2006 20:50 PM
LUMUT, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- The findings in the inquiry into the ferries collision off Pulau Payar near Langkawi will be made public after they are presented to the Cabinet on Dec 11, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy (BELOW)

Two ferries collided during bad weather on Nov 24, killing a three year-old boy and injuring 12 others. "The Marine Department is preparing the report to be presented to Cabinet on Dec 11. Until then, it is best to stop making comments on the incident," he told reporters after opening Kencana Petroleum Bhd's oil and gas fabrication workshop here Friday. Chan was commenting on statements by certain disgruntled parties that the ferry operator did not take adequate precautions to ensure passenger safety. On another matter, Chan said the Ministry would consider deepening Sungai Sitiawan to allow larger ships and barges to dock at the jetty owned by several manufacturers at Lumut port. "Currently, the Marine Department is deepening Sungai Dinding and the Dinding Straits to facilitate boats to Lumut port. We might extend the deepening works to Sungai Sitiawan," he added. The project to deepen Sungai Dinding and the Dinding Straits cost RM24 million.
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MB Hits Out At Agencies Over Monitoring Of Langkawi Ferry Operators; November 29, 2006 21:42 PM

ALOR STAR, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid Wednesday hit out at what he described as the lackadaisical attitude of the Marine Department and the Maritime Enforcement Agency in enforcing the regulations to be adhered to by operators of the ferry service between Langkawi and the mainland. He said the agencies lacked commitment in enforcing the regulations, particularly those relating to passenger safety. The ferry service operators were always giving all kinds of excuses for not adhering to the regulations in force, he told reporters after chairing the weekly meeting of the state executive council, here. For example, he said, when they were asked for the passenger manifest, the reply was that the passengers did not want to record their names. "I was also told that it was a passenger and not the ferry captian who had lodged a report on last Friday's ferry collision. This clearly shows that the ferry operators are irresponsible," he said. Mahdzir said the agencies and the ferry operators should have learned from the accident near Pulau Payar last Friday in which a boy was killed. "In the past three days, many Marine Department officers were on ferries, inspecting the level of security, radar system and what not. But I feel this will be shortlived," he said. He said a special meeting involving the State Security Committee, Marine Department and the Maritime Enforcement Agency would be held at Wisma Darul Aman tomorrow to discuss their roles and the measures that had to be taken by ferry operators to improve passenger safety. Meanwhile, the committee investigating the ferry accident is expected to come out with its report only on Dec 5.

ABOVE & BELOW: The two ferries at the jetty afetr the collision
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ABOVE & BELOW: Details of the impact - the crushing of metals after the collision.

Parents of the dead boy to sue the ferry operator for negligence. Poor visibility blame for accident. "Radar cannot detect anything"

Legal action to amplify there is no compromise to passenger safety. 1 boy died 8 hours after the incident and 13 others were injured, with 3 in a serious condition in hospital.

Some were seriously injured with head injuries

55 passenger in the Sejarah 15 ferry collided with another big ferry with 153 people on board during the thunderstorm on Friday night. The parents of the dead boy will sue the Sejarah 15 ferry operator for negligence to provide the safe transport services and had failed to provide first aid for the family.

The injured ones

Others have also called for safety measures to be reviewed. And Transport Minister as usual is asking for a Report (with no deadline this time!)

Langkawi MP Datuk Abu Bakar: “It took an hour to ferry the injured to the hospital. If ther is a good and proper system, it would take only 15 minutes”

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One Of Ferry Collision Victims Dies; November 25, 2006 13:10 PM

LANGKAWI, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- One of the ferry collision victims died late last night, seven hours after the ferry he was travelling in collided head-on with another passenger ferry here yesterday. Mohd Danial Ramli, 3, of Tanjung Bendahara, Alor Star, who was warded at the Langkawi Hospital here, died of serious head injuries at about 12.15am, Langkawi District Officer Mansor Ismail said. Mohd Danial was admitted to the hospital at about 7.30pm, he told reporters after visiting the victims at the hospital. Mansor said the boy's body would be taken to Kuala Kedah this morning for burial at his mother's village in Sungai Limau in Yan.

Mohd Danial's parents -- Ramli Saad, 32, and Norziah Abdul Wahab, 40, were also treated at the same hospital and their daughter Amira Anui, 8, also for severe head injuries. Also at the hospital were Norziah's mother, Fatimah Ahmad, 60, and her younger sister Nornadiah, 20.
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ABOVE & BELOW: The lucky ones, uninjured took the other ferries

Chan Directs Mardep To Launch Immediate Probe Into Ferries Collision; November 25, 2006 17:58 PM

RAWANG, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy has directed the Peninsular Malaysia Marine Department (Mardep) to lead an investigation to determine the cause of the collision between two ferries near Langkawi island. He said the investigation would focus on identifying the possible causes of the accident and to determine if the pilots had failed to follow existing rules. "The report will be handed over to my ministry for further action," he told reporters here today. Chan, however, did not say how long it will take to complete the probe. At about 5pm yesterday, two ferries collided head-on 14.5 nautical miles from the Kuah Jetty in Langkawi during a heavy thunderstorm. A three-year-old boy, Mohd Danial Ramli, who sustained serious head injuries as a result of the accident, died at midnight last night at Langkawi Hospital while 208 other passengers survived with several of them injured. Among the injured were Norziah Abdul Wahab, 40, Ramli Saad, 32, Amira Anui, eight, Fatimah Ahmad, 60, and Nornadiah Abdul Wahah, 20.
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Poor visibility likely cause of Langkawi ferry collision; Sunday November 26, 2006

BY EMBUN MAJID: LANGKAWI: Poor visibility due to heavy rain could have caused two ferries to collide near Pulau Payar on Friday, killing a three-year-old boy and injuring 33 passengers. District officer Mansor Ismail said the captain of Express Sejahtera 15 told the police that the ferry’s radar could not detect any object near the vessel before the collision with the Express Kenangan 6 at 5.15pm. The captains of both ferries informed their offices at Kuah jetty and two other ferries were despatched to the scene to take the passengers back, he said. “Boats from the marine police and the Fire and Rescue Department were despatched to the scene,” he said. Mohd Danial Ramli from Jalan Tanjung Bendahara, Alor Star, died of his injuries at about midnight on Friday at Langkawi Hospital.

Mansor said there were 153 passengers on Express Kenangan 6 while most of the injured were from Express Sejahtera 15, which had 55 passengers. He said the Express Sejahtera 15 with its damaged front portion was towed back to the Kuah jetty while Express Kenangan 6 made its way back on its own. He said until yesterday morning, four men and three women, aged between 20 and 40, and two girls, aged six and eight, were still warded at Langkawi Hospital. Eight-year-old Amira Auni Ramli was in the intensive care unit. Mansor said 24 people received outpatient treatment and were sent to a hotel and two rented houses in Kuah on Friday night.

Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said he had asked Mansor to meet with the Marine epartment and the two ferry operators to discuss compensation. “State Secretary Datuk Wira Syed Unan Mashri Abdullah, who is heading the investigation committee, will submit a report on the incident,” he said. In Rawang, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy told Bernama that the Peninsular Malaysia Marine Department (Mardep) would lead an investigation into the cause of the collision. He said the investigation would focus on identifying the possible causes of the accident and to determine if the pilots had failed to follow rules. “The report will be handed over to my ministry for further action,” he told reporters. Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai, who was in Langkawi for an MCA dinner, urged the authorities to ensure such incidents did not recur. He said Langkawi, which was a famous tourist destination, was preparing to welcome an influx of visitors for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007. “We regret this incident,” he said after visiting the injured passengers at the Langkawi Hospital on Friday night.