The three were among nine people, including six siblings, who were on their way back from an outing to the Batu Payung beach.

The drowned victims were identified as Saiful Muhaimin, 15, who was found in the sea, and his younger brother Jaidi, five, who was found on the beach.

Their sister Rahena, 20, is still missing while six other people in the group were rescued.

One of the siblings, Zetty, 17, said the incident occurred when water entered the bow of the boat after it was battered by big waves, causing the boat to capsize.

“We fell into the sea. Five other siblings and I could not swim and we were struggling to keep our heads above water. I managed to grab my brother, Jefry, six, and we held on to a drum.

“My younger brother, Adam, 12, also clung to a drum before a passing boat came to save us.”

Fishermen rescued three of the siblings, Zetty’s husband, a cousin and a neighbour.

According to Zetty, this was their first trip to the Batu Payung beach in a boat.

The victims’ mother, Mary Nasir, 48, said six of her children left Kampung Rawa-Rawa at 11am and then to Batu 4 to take the boat for the outing to Batu Payung.

“At about 3pm, my daughter (Zetty) phoned to say their boat had capsized and three of my children could not be found,” said Mary, who was inconsolable.

The eldest brother, Junior, 25, said he had told his siblings not to return by boat as he saw the weather was not good.

“I did not follow them as I was getting ready my clothes for my wedding scheduled on Jan 9.

“At 2pm, my sister phoned to say they wanted to return. I told her not to use the boat to return home. I phoned them again but there was no answer. I did not expect their boat to capsize,” said.

Tawau Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency deputy director Amiludin Yenggah said the agency received information from police on the incident and activated a search and rescue operation to look for the victims.

The search was halted last night and resumed this morning.

“The search was conducted together with villagers as well as police and civil defence force personnel,” he said.

He believed the incident was caused by overloading at the bow of the boat.

Amiludin advised people to be cautious when going out to sea as the weather was unpredictable and reminded them to always wear life jackets for safety.