The news that two Chinese tourists mysteriously lost contact on Malaysian island continues to affect the hearts of domestic people. With the advancement of the search and rescue operation, more abnormal details surfaced: the lost female teacher concealed the identity of her fellow traveler from her family before departure, the last location of the male tourist's mobile phone was displayed in the sea, and the two did not rent hotel equipment but carried their own diving equipment into the sea. At present, China and Malaysia have launched a comprehensive search and rescue, and family members are anxiously waiting for news. Many doubts in the incident make the whole process even more worrying.
Lost Island: An unusual absence at the time of departure
The center of the incident is Mantanani Island in Malaysia, a resort famous for its clear waters and coral reefs, which cast a heavy shadow on October 5th. Yu Xiaopeng, 25, and Fan Qinben, 28, planned to stay here for two days and then return. According to hotel regulations, they should check out before 11: 30 noon that day.
The staff at the front desk of the hotel repeatedly checked the registration of accommodation and never waited for the image of two Chinese tourists. After the phone call of the room no one was heard, the staff with the spare key to the room to verify the situation. When the door was opened, the cold air in the room was still working slightly, the baggage of the two people stood by the wall, the chain was pulled tightly sewn, the leather products on the washing table were placed in order, the passport was placed in the drawer of the bedroom, as if the owner was just walking downstairs, the door would be pushed in at any time.
Until 8 o'clock that night, when the sky was completely dark and the tourists had not returned, the hotel management realized that something was wrong and immediately reported the case to the local police. Preliminary investigation by the police sorted out the basic information of the two men: Yu Xiaopeng was born in Weihai, Shandong Province, and had been working in Wuhu, Anhui Province for a long time; Fan Qin was a native of Wuhu and a primary school teacher. The two began their interaction with an industry training last year and later became good friends. They had participated in local music festivals together, and this time they took advantage of the holidays to travel abroad.
Their itinerary is clear: on September 30th they departed from Feng Shui New Bridge Airport and stopped for a day after arriving in Kuala Lumpur, on October 2nd they moved to Abu Dhabi, and on the morning of October 4th they boarded a ferry to Manatani Island. At 4:30 p.m. on the island, other guests met them in the hotel corridor —— with a blue swimsuit, a black waterproof bag in their hands, breathing tubes and mirrors in their hands, and the two said they laughed and walked towards the sea.
A few hours before losing contact, the two were still interacting with relatives and friends normally. Fan Qin posted three photos in her family WeChat group: one is the sea view outside the hotel balcony, the other is the breakfast on the bedside, and the other is her selfie in front of the mirror. Yu Xiaopeng sent a message to a friend saying, "The sunset on the island is beautiful, and I'll show you it later". No one expected that these daily sharing would be the last message they left to their relatives and friends.
Reverse Details: Lies and Doubts about Positioning at Sea
Domestic relatives and friends noticed the abnormality on the morning of October 6th. Fan Qin's mother routinely sends WeChat to her daughter to ask about the return time, and the message always shows "unread" after it is sent; Yu Xiaopeng's friend called him many times, and only the mechanical English prompt sound came from the receiver. Their WeChat circle of friends stayed on the day of Shangdao, and all social accounts seemed to fall into silence at the same time, as if they were from into thin air.
The family of Fang Zhen rushed to reunite, thinking of her daughter before leaving said "to go abroad with Ms. Fang Zhen," and quickly found out how to contact Ms. Fang Zhen. At the moment of the phone connection, Fang Zhen mother's voice with a cry: "Muh, you and Jingzhen are okay in Malaysia? we can't contact her."
This answer was like a bolt from the blue, completely panicking Fan Qin's family. Ms. Miao was very anxious after learning about the situation. She immediately contacted her circle of friends in Wuhu to inquire about it, and learned the truth from Yu Xiaopeng's colleagues-Fan Qin was traveling with Yu Xiaopeng. Just as everyone was piecing together clues, Yu Xiaopeng's roommate, Mr. Zhang, suddenly remembered one thing: Yu Xiaopeng's dormitory had a tablet computer tied to his mobile phone, and real-time positioning could be checked through the device synchronization function.
Mr. Zhang immediately contacted his colleagues in the company and urged them to rush to the dormitory to open the tablet. When the positioning interface was loaded, the people present breathed a cold breath: Mr. Zhang's last update of the phone location was at 2 a.m. on October 5th, and the coordinates appeared in the sea area on the southern side of Mantanani Island. More oddly, his paired two Bluetooth headphones were positioned completely separately: one overlap with the location of the phone, and the other appeared in the area of Appe, 20 km away.
Family members immediately fed back the positioning information to the Chinese Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu, which immediately handed it over to the Malaysian police. The police quickly sent professional divers into the sea to search for mobile phones, but the water depth of this sea area exceeded 15 meters, and it was the monsoon season, and the ocean currents were rapid. Divers searched for two days continuously, but still found no trace.
The investigation of the hotel also raised new questions. The staff of the front desk confirmed that Fang Zhen and Xiaoping had never rented submarine equipment at the hotel, nor registered for any water activities organized by the hotel. Where did the breathing tubes and diving clothes they brought on the day come from? The staff speculated that the two may have brought their own equipment from the country and intended to diving themselves.
More unfavorable is the weather factor. Local meteorological records show that more than 4 p.m. on October 4 is still cloudy, the sea wind with a noticeable sense of humidity, 5 p.m., the fine rain starts to hit the sea, and in the morning of the next day, the stormy rain overwhelms the island. The bad weather not only complicates the sea conditions, but may also wipe off the traces of the site remains, and the surveillance equipment on the island is rare, only in the hotel hall and the port there are fragments of stars, can not capture the two people after the sea.
Transnational search and rescue: action by parties awaiting the fire
Location information and suspected equipment were quickly fed back to relevant departments, and cross-border search and rescue was immediately launched. The Maritime Anti-Terrorism Unit of the Royal Malaysian Police and the Maritime Law Enforcement Bureau dispatched four search and rescue boats to carry out net-type inspections along the waters around Mantanani Island; unmanned crew carrying thermal imaging equipment cruised in the air, and fishermen on the island also spontaneously drove small boats to join the search team. Being familiar with the sea, they focused on checking the reef areas that fishermen rarely visit.
The Consul General of China's Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu personally rushed to Kota Kinabalu to command and coordinate, and held an emergency meeting with the Malaysian police, demanding that "no suspicious area be spared and every effort be made to ensure the safety of China citizens." Consulate staff continue to maintain communication with family members, promptly inform the search and rescue progress, and assist in visa processing, accommodation and other matters.
The anxiety of family members has intensified over time. Fan Qin's father and sister arrived in Kota Kinabalu in the early morning of October 7. However, due to the excessive wind and waves at sea, the ferry was suspended. They had to wait at the dock, guarding the news from the search and rescue headquarters every day, and couldn't eat a few bites. Yu Xiaopeng's family was urgently applying for a travel permit in his hometown because they had not applied for a passport in advance. His mother told the consulate staff on the phone: "Even if we sell iron, we must find the person. As long as we have news, we will fly there immediately."
The family was disturbed by the fact that the hotel had submitted surveillance videos to the police, but they repeatedly submitted requests for a check-in and were not answered, and whether they had actually returned to the hotel? had they contacted strangers before descending the sea? where exactly the last appearance?"
The discussion on the Internet has gradually changed. Some netizens began to speculate on the relationship between the two, using words such as "lonely man and widow woman" and "concealing itinerary" to create topics; Others accuse Fan Qin of "shouldn't lie to her parents" and even fabricate rumors of "emotional disputes". These remarks made Ms. Miao very angry. She posted a long post on the social platform in response: "What we should care most about now is how to find people, not to dig up the so-called'inside story '. They are just ordinary friends, and it is normal to travel together. Don't use malicious speculation. Two missing lives."
The searchlights of the search and rescue ship cut beams of light on the inky sea. Fan Qin's father stood at the dock wrapped in his coat, staring at the churning sea, holding the hotel photos sent by his daughter before departure. Yu Xiaopeng's family is still waiting for passport approval. Every time their mobile phone rings, their hearts suddenly beat faster. The sea breeze blew across the island, carrying a salty smell. Everyone was looking forward to the news that the two of them were safe in the next second.