‘Terrifying experience’: Singapore family, including 6-month-old baby, rescued after boat capsizes in Bintan

SINGAPORE: A woman took to Instagram to tell the harrowing tale of what her family went through after their boat capsized during a tour in Bintan. 

“It was supposed to be a memorable family vacation in Tanjung Pinang and Bintan. Instead, it became one of the most terrifying experiences of our lives,” wrote Mdm Sharifah (@sharifah.nah), going on to explain that it involved her extended family of 28, which included 2 babies, 7 children, and 19 adults.

After lunch at a kelong restaurant, the group was picked up by several speedboats for a tour. However, as some family members noticed that the sky had turned dark and it was beginning to drizzle, they voiced concerns.

The tour staff assured them that everything was safe and that the weather could still change, and as the tour could not be cancelled and the family had already paid, they went on with it.

The family took three boats in all, and Mdm Sharifah took the last boat, along with a 6-month-old baby, another child, and eight other adults, including 2 crew members.

In a picture she posted, she noted how overloaded the boat was and how it felt unstable.

Although they were again reassured it “was normal and safe,” the boat capsized, and while they were wearing life jackets, Mdm Sharifah said that these turned out to be an obstacle while they tried to escape from under it. Moreover, except for the one her niece used, their life jackets had no whistle that wearers could use to call for help during an emergency.

“Panic erupted as adults, children, and even an infant fought desperately for air. What felt like 1 or 2 minutes underwater felt like a lifetime,” she wrote, adding, “We tried to flip and turn the boat, but with heavy rain, current, high tide, and panicking at the same time makes it impossible.”

When the boat sank, Mdm Sharifah’s brother and her nine-year-old niece were trapped underneath it for around three to four minutes. They escaped when he pushed the child toward an opening.

Meanwhile, the others held tightly to each other amid the powerful current and swam toward mangrove trees for safety. 

However, her cousin’s husband and their 6-month-old baby were swept far from the group.

The family lost all their phones, wallets, cash, identification cards, bank cards, car keys, and other personal belongings in the mishap.

As they had no other way to call for help, the family kept using the whistle on the life jacket while they prayed and hoped for a miracle.

“For nearly 40 to 50 minutes, we clung to the mangrove trees in heavy rain, not knowing if rescue would arrive in time. Every minute felt like an hour,” she wrote, adding that they later found out that there were crocodiles,  poisonous snakes, monitor lizards, and other dangerous animals in the mangrove area where they were.

“By some miracle, all 8 of us survived. No lives were lost. Only minor injuries and scratches. But the emotional trauma will stay with us forever,” she wrote, adding that their total losses amounted to around S$8,000.

To their shock, they learned later that the two people who operated the boat said that they did not have a proper boat operating licence or practical training, but only had experience. Moreover, the tour guide allegedly could not even swim.

“The police recorded our statements and conducted investigations, forcing us to remain there for approximately two more hours,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, the family requested compensation for their losses. The company told them they were unable to do so, and could only give them 45 million rupiah (approximately S$3,200), less than half of the worth of the items they had lost. She wrote later that she also lost important documents and work-related items that had been on her phone.

Mdm Sharifah added, “No family should have to endure what we went through. No parent should have to watch their child struggle for air beneath an overturned boat.

No infant should have to be carried through raging currents while waiting for rescue.

I really hope they take accountability and action on this so it won’t happen again to anyone else. We are beyond grateful that every single member of our family made it home alive. Alhamdulilah. But this could have easily ended as a TRAGEDY. And that is something we will never forget.” /TISG

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