MANAMA, 18 February 2004 — Two Bahraini youths are presumed dead after their stolen boat capsized in Tubli Bay near the Sitra Bridge in the early hours of Monday morning.
Najam Hassan Muhammad Ali, 18, and Zohair Ali Abdul Wahab Al-Taweel, 19, were said to be presumed dead by sources close to the rescue operation, but Coast Guard officials said that the search for the missing two continues using boats and helicopters.
Three survivors — Hani Abdullah, 24, Ali Abdul Hadi Al-Basri, 18, and Raji Yousif Ali — were taken initially to Nabeah Salah police station before being moved to Salmanyia Medical Complex after Coast Guard and police received reports of the incident. Two were released while one remains hospitalized.
Relatives told Arab News that the incident occurred when the five, all from Sitra, were fishing in the bay close to the bridge and strong winds caused the boat to overturn.
According to relatives, four of them convinced Najam, who could not swim, to hold on to the fishing nets while they swam to shore to get help.
All four swam to shore but Zuhair, who was ahead, never arrived.
The three survivors broke down the door of the nearby home of Asian residents after they failed to hear their pleas for help.
“When they broke down the door the residents called police who escorted them to the station and called for help,” one relative said.
The boat belonged to Jamal Al-Wazeer, who said it was stolen on Sunday noon.
“I got a call from police at around 7 a.m. to inform me that my boat had capsized and I informed them that it had been reported stolen.”
