American Kenneth Wayne, who left Phuket on a yacht last weekend, is missing at sea after a collision with a trawler. His Thai crew was rescued by a fishing boat off the coast of Malaysia Sunday morning.

Kuantan OCPD Assistant Commissioner of Police Mohammad Jasmani Yusoff told Malaysian media last night that the police received a report from Kuantan marine police at about 10.45am that four people had been rescued by a fishing vessel, TFA 2009, 31 nautical miles off Kuantan Port.

“They were brought to safety at the Kuantan marine police jetty at about noon and were rushed to Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital for treatment”, said the police officer.

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62 year old American Kenneth Wayne, 62, is lost at sea. His yacht mates – James Edward, 27, from Ireland and Anon, 44, Papop, 33, and Butsara “Tom” Tantak, 31, from Thailand – were rescued by another fishing boat.

Edward, and “Tom” sustained severe injuries and were currently warded at Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital.

The unidentified trawler did not stop after the collision.

The group had set sail from Phuket, Thailand on May 16 and was heading to Langkawi, Singapore and Tioman for underwater photo shooting sessions.

“The yacht entered Kuantan waters at about 4am today to enable the diver to take underwater pictures around the diving areas”, said the police officer.

He said upon reaching the location, an unknown vessel hit the yacht and sped off, leaving the boat capsized.

Jasmani said a search and rescue operation to find the missing victim was being mounted by the Kuantan Marine team, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Royal Malaysian Navy.

Initial investigation showed that the yacht belonged to World Wide Dive and Sail Co Ltd of Phuket and registered in Thailand. The owner had been notified about the incident.