Saeed Haider

Saudi Gazette

DAMMAM — Mystery has shrouded the disappearance of four young Saudis in high seas since Wednesday and a frantic search by coast guards has so far failed to find any clue of their whereabouts.



The four young men set out on sail late Wednesday afternoon from the Mazrouiyah shore with a 24-hour permit from the Border Guard to remain in high seas. Until now they have not returned, increasing the agony of their families.



The coast guard units of the Border Guard have been combing the area for the past four days without any trace of the men or their boat.



Dammam Port confirmed that the last contact with the boat was at 5 p.m. Wednesday, a few hours after they sailed into the sea.



A Border Guard spokesman said the search was continuing both in the waters and from the air but without any success. “We have not located any wreckage as well,” he said.



The boat was owned and piloted  by Moa’taz Al-Mahozig and he was accompanied by his three friends, Zaki Shwaiket, Husain Al-Rashid and Hassan Al-Sayeed.



It was a small speed boat and coast guards and family members are becoming increasingly frustrated as the search operation is proving futile.



“If, God forbid, there was an accident then we should have located the boat's wreckage or the bodies. Divers have been scouring the deep waters but without any trace of the men or the boat,” the Border Guard spokesman said.



The Border Guard command has already issued an alert to all ports in the in the region and ships in the vicinity to look out for the boat or the sailors.



According to a friend of the missing four, the group planned to sail toward Al-Naoh area, which is known for high tides and strong waves. He said mobile phones of all the four were closed.



Capt. Omar Al-Akalbi, the official spokesman for the region's Border Guard, said the search operations had been intensified and they were looking into all possibilities. "More boats and helicopters have been deployed to widen the area of search,” he said.



The four missing sailors, all of them in their mid 20s are from the Sihat region of the Eastern Province.



Family members fear that pirates in the Arabian Gulf close to the Iranian coast could have seized the boat and held the four men captive for ransom.



There have been reports of some pirate activities in the Arabian Gulf. A few months ago a fishing  boat from Saudi Arabia was attacked allegedly by Iranian pirates. An Indian sailor was killed in the attack.