I Must Come Home, My Parents Are Looking For Me - Survivor

By Nashir Mansor PAPAR (Sabah, Malaysia), May 17 (Bernama) -- "I must come home, my parents are looking for me." So said Armella Ali Hassan, one of the four survivors of the capsized boat in the waters off Kudat town in east Malaysian state Sabah, on May 2, as she recalled how she managed to survive her nine-day ordeal at the South China Sea without food and clean water. The 23-year-old lass, who is a part-time employee at the Tommy Place Resort in Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, Kudat, said as she and three others remained adrift at sea, she could only afford to think positively that she would return to her family safe and sound. The three other survivors were Spanish couple David Hernandez Gasulla and Martha Miguel; and a Chinese citizen, Tommy Lam Wai Yin, who owns the resort. "I had also recited the zikir (short phrases glorifying God) a lot, recited the verses I knew (from the Quran) and silently performed the call for prayer. I just did not want to give up," she told reporters when met at her family home here Tuesday. Although the skin flakes on her hands and arms were clearly visible, Armella appeared to have fully recovered physically and emotionally, as she was discharged from hospital last Saturday. Relating the incident, Armella said the boat they were in had overturned after being hit by strong waves during a ride from Pulau Balambangan to Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, Kudat. She said the incident occurred during sunset, just five minutes away from reaching at their destination. They had earlier left the island at 5 pm. She said following the impact, they were all thrown overboard but managed to push the boat back in position and bail out the water, before boarding it again. They began drifting after encountering engine problem, while the spare engine sank into the sea, she said. Armella said on the second day they were stranded at sea, they saw an aircraft believed to be from the search and rescue operation, but they were not spotted. By night, she said they spotted a ship, thinking that could be of the rescue mission, but it bore no result despite their efforts to burn the life jackets and shouting to attract attention. "On the third day, we saw two fishing boats side by side in Kota Belud waters but the boats continued sailing despite our screams for help," she said. While at sea, Armella said she experienced breathing difficulty twice but overcame such situations by reciting the 'Shahadah' three times to give her the strenghth to hold on. She said they were rescued on the ninth day (May 10) when they were spotted by Vietnamese fishermen at 10am in the Malaysian waters, before the survivors were taken into their boat. "When I saw the boat and the Vietnamese fishermen, I had only one thing in mind. I just want to get on their boat, regardless whether they were good or bad people. I wanted to be rescued first. Other things came later," she said, adding that the survivors were given water and porridge by the fishermen. She said they spent three days on the Vietnamese boat and were treated nicely before they were transferred to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency boat on May 12. -- BERNAMA