QEH1 Director Dr Heric Corray said the patients suffered from dehydration and hypothermia, and some among them even had first degree burns.
“All 20 patients (China tourists) were admitted (to the hospital) yesterday morning and they are all in different wards.
“But we are going to put them all in one ward so that they can get support from each other,” he said when met by reporters after Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman visited the tourists at the hospital here today.
When asked about the post-mortem of the three who died in the incident, Dr Corray said autopsies had been carried out on two of the bodies yesterday, but he had yet to receive a report from the forensic specialist concerned.
“We have not done the post-mortem on the other body because we are waiting for approval from the deceased’s family (to conduct the post-mortem),” he said.
The China tourists were rescued in the waters of Semarang, near Labuan, on Jan 29.
They were among 28 China tourists and three crew members bound for Pulau Mengalum, about 56km northwest of Kota Kinabalu, when the boat they were traveling in was hit by strong winds and huge waves an hour after it departed the Tanjung Aru jetty here at about 9am on Jan 28.
Two of the crew were also rescued in the waters of Semarang, while a search mission is on-going to locate the rest.
The rescued crew members are currently under police custody to facilitate investigation into the incident.