KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — A Turkish national who remains missing after a yacht capsized off Pulau Yu, Kuala Terengganu, last Tuesday is believed to have gone down with the vessel, Utusan Malaysia reported.
According to Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Admiral Datuk Mohd Rosli Abdullah, initial investigations suggest Eser Demirkol, 52, was asleep during the incident and was unable to escape in time.
“Two of the victims managed to jump into the sea, but the missing individual is believed to have still been inside the yacht when it sank,” he was quoted as saying at a press conference after the Malaysian Maritime 2025 Media Day programme at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Maritime Academy (AMSAS) in Kuantan today.
The two individuals who jumped into the sea — yacht captain Ahmet Volkan Ata, 52, and Ates Demiroren, 42 — were later rescued.
Utusan Malaysia also reported that no new leads have emerged so far regarding the missing person or the yacht, but search and rescue (SAR) operations are ongoing.
The current search area spans 7.89 square nautical miles, and efforts are expected to continue over the next few days depending on weather and sea conditions.
The incident, which took place about 30 nautical miles off Pulau Yu, on July 29 involved three Turkish nationals who were sailing from Pulau Tioman to Pattani, Thailand, when their yacht sank due to rough weather.
