KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The search for those missing in a boat accident off Malaysia's Sabah state on North Borneo was hampered by bad weather on Thursday, officials said.
Some 400 personnel as well as 23 vessels and aircraft from Malaysia and neighboring Brunei combed a search area of 3,900 square nautical miles but found nothing, said Adam Aziz, chief of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital.
The search continued despite bad weather with waves estimated to be 2.5 to 3 meters high in the search area, he said, adding that the operation may move southwards according to the winds.
China's Consul-General in Kota Kinabalu Chen Peijie on Thursday asked Malaysian authorities to consider the possibility of seeking victims of the sunken boat underwater, as the search operation entered into its sixth day.
The catamaran, carrying over two dozen Chinese tourists and three crew, went down in turbulent waters while heading for the popular island of Mengalum on Saturday. Twenty-two people have been rescued but three Chinese tourists were confirmed dead. Another five Chinese nationals and a crew member were still unaccounted for.
