Dragon boat tragedy raises queries

Dragon boat tragedy raises queries
by Bernard Cheah and Wong Wooi Kean

In grief ... Relatives of Yi Zhang break down as they identify his body which was the first to be recovered this morning.

GEORGE TOWN (Jan 18, 2010): As the grieving families of the teacher and five students who died in yesterday's dragon boat training session tragedy prepare for their funerals, questions are being raised on the suitability of the area for training and whether the school was negligent in ensuring the safety of its wards.

The hopes of family members of four missing students were dashed today when the search and rescue team recovered all four bodies from the waters off Lebuh McCallum Ghaut, bringing the death toll to six.

The body of Goh Yi Zhang, 17, was found floating near the Tanjung City Marina at 8.03am. The body of Brendon Yeoh Yuen Khye, 17, was discovered at noon at the Raja Uda ferry terminal, both about 1km from the point of the tragedy.

At 4.25pm, the bodies of Cheah Zi Jun, 17, and Wan Yong Xiang, 16, were found in waters around the jetty near the Customs Department in Weld Quay.

Authorities who led the operations said none of the four was found with a life jacket.

On Sunday, the SAR team recovered the bodies of Jason Ch'ng, 17, and teacher Chin Aik Siang, 28. Both had life jackets.

The Chung Ling High School teacher, 15 students and two instructors were training for the Penang International Dragon Boat Race scheduled for July in Teluk Bahang when their dragon boat capsized after being hit by a wave.

Jason's father, Ch'ng Chin Teik, 52, plans to take legal action against SMJK Chung Ling, alleging that it was negligent in its duty of ensuring the safety of his son during the training.

He claimed the area where the training was done was a dangerous one and a passage for large boats.

Bernama quoted a fisherman, Aznan Bakar, as saying he was surprised the school dragon boat team chose the area to train.

He said the area was dangerous for small boats as it was where ships unloaded cargo and fishermen stayed clear.

Penang Port has urged people plying the Penang Channel or any point along the state’s coastal waters for purposes of recreation or sports, to notify the police or the marine operations force of their plans.

Its chairman Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said people should learn from the accident and take precautionary measures before embarking on such trips.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the school and the relevant authorities need to provide some explanation for the incident as the grieving parents would expect answers.

Family members broke down in emotional scenes each time a body was brought ashore at the rescue operations centre. The remains were sent to the Penang Hospital for post-mortem before being handed over to the families.

The families of Jason and Yi Zhang wept inconsolably as they held prayers with Taoist priests, for the souls of the two teenagers, while facing the sea.

Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas arrived about noon to offer his condolences and support to the families.

During the search operation, involving some 200 personnel led by State Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Mohd Razam Taja Rahim, one of the relatives lashed out at reporters, demanding privacy and sympathy from the media photographers.

Volunteers from the St John Ambulance helped the anxious and grieving relatives by offering water.

Wan Yong Xiang	Brandon Yeoh	Cheah Zi Jun
Chin Aik Siang	Ch'ng Wai Seong

(Source: Sun2Surf)