A Search and Rescue (SAR) team located the bodies about noon, but could not retrieve the duo as they were pinned underneath the hull of the 1,500 deadweight tonne (DWT) Bunga Kelana 6.

The team was also hampered in its efforts to remove the bodies of Hii Teck Heng, 42, and Chew Kim Jung, 37, due to strong undercurrents and rough seas.

Miri police chief, ACP Jamaludin Ibrahim told Bernama that the choppy seas forced the SAR team comprising personnel from the police, Fire and Rescue Department and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) to call off their operation for the day.

He said the operation to retrieve the bodies would resume at day break, subject to weather condition.

“The divers who spotted the bodies had attempted to close in, but were swept away by the undercurrents.

“As we did not want to endanger the lives of the personnel involved in the operation, we decided to continue the operation tomorrow,” added Jamaludin. Described as qualified divers, Hii and Chew, both of Bintulu, Sarawak, were engaged to carry out repair works on the ship about 8am last Friday.

Earlier, a hole underneath its hull was detected while it was anchored offshore here, in an area of about 13 metres deep.