On Sunday, the Malaysian Navy's warship, KD Pendekar, sank in the South China Sea after colliding with an unidentified object. Fortunately, all 39 crew members were able to evacuate safely, with no reported injuries or missing personnel.
Sank after two hours
According to tag24 the incident occurred around noon when the crew detected a significant leak in the engine room.
The leak quickly spread throughout the vessel, leading to an uncontrollable situation.
Despite immediate repair efforts, the KD Pendekar sank approximately two nautical miles off the coast at 3:41 PM local time, after struggling to stay afloat for about four hours.
Originally from Sweden
The KD Pendekar, which was commissioned in 1979, is a 43-meter-long fast patrol boat equipped with Exocet missiles. Originally launched in Sweden in 1978, it was intended for coastal patrol operations and was one of four similar vessels in service with the Royal Malaysian Navy.
The Malaysian Navy has announced that an expert commission will investigate the cause of the incident, but preliminary reports suggest a collision with an underwater object as the likely reason for the sinking.
This incident is a stark reminder that even naval vessels can face severe accidents at sea. Just days prior to this incident, a fire broke out on the decommissioned aircraft carrier Minsk, which was slated for conversion into a theme park. It appears that the Minsk may now be beyond repair.
