KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian authorities further widened the search area on Sunday (Aug 11) hoping to locate two Singaporean kayakers missing since Friday evening.

The authorities are combing the sea off Johor and Pahang states for Mr Tan Eng Soon and Ms Puah Geok Tin, with the search on Sunday expanded to cover more than 500 nautical miles in the same area, up from 400 nautical miles covered on Saturday (Aug 10).

Authorities from the maritime agency, police and local fishermen are involved in the search for Mr Tan, 62, and Ms Puah, 57, who were last spotted in their green kayak.

In a statement, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said Sunday’s search involved 50 people with personnel combing north of Seri Buat island to north-west of Tioman island.

Mr Tan and Ms Puah were paired together in the kayak and were part of a group of Singaporean kayakers. The group had departed from Mersing, Johor. The two later got separated from the group, with the others only noticing that they had gone missing at 5.40pm on Friday. A police report was made the next day followed by a search and rescue operations, but they have yielded no clues or results so far.

According to Mersing District’s Acting Police Chief, Assistant Superintendent Mohd Nor Mohd Isa, the kayakers had gone out to sea despite poor weather conditions.

“It was bad weather and rough waves,” the officer told The Straits Times.

Search operations have been ongoing even though it has been drizzling. The search area in the past two days is north of where the group was kayaking due to the direction of the water currents.

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