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29 March 2024

Ship-boat crash: Hunt on for missing Emirati captain

A big ship collided on Saturday night with an Emirati fishing boat about 80 nautical miles off the coast of Umm Al Quwain (Picture credit: Shutterstock)

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By Staff

UAE Coast Guard and Dubai Police are continuing their search for Emirati fishing boat captain Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, who has been missing since Saturday night when a big ship collided with their boat about 80 nautical miles off the coast of Umm Al Quwain, reported 'Al Ittihad'.

Helicopters and boats have been pressed into the search operation to trace the 32-year-old Emirati.

Mohammed Saeed Al Shehhi, owner of the boat, said five injured sailors who were admitted to hospital have been discharged.

One sailor is still recuperating after an operation.

EARLIER STORY:

Ship collides with boat off UAQ coast; captain missing

A big ship collided on Saturday night with an Emirati fishing boat about 80 nautical miles off the coast of Umm Al Quwain, the Arabic daily newspaper Al Ittihad reported.

The boat’s captain Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, 32, Emirati, is missing. Six Indian sailors sustained minor to serious injuries.

The injured have been admitted to Khalifa Hospital in Ajman. Search for the Emirati captain is continuing.

Mohammed Saeed Al Shehhi, owner of the boat, said the captain and sailors took to sea on Wednesday evening.

He said the collision happened at about 3am on Saturday when all the sailors and the captain on the boat fell asleep due to exhaustion. The boat was split into two parts by the impact of the collision.

He said the big ship moved on without stopping to save the fishermen, perhaps because people on board the ship did not realise the seriousness of the accident.

The panicked sailors were left struggling in the sea.

Al Shehi said a fishing boat about 2km away from the scene of the accident, hearing noises coming in from the dark, approached and rescued the sailors who were about a kilometre apart. Despite searching for three hours, the captain of the boat could not be located.

He said the six rescued sailors reached  Ajman Creek on Saturday afternoon and were taken by ambulance to Khalifa Hospital for treatment. One of them is seriously injured while the others were only slightly hurt, he added.