Water surges hamper search for two missing at Sungai Pertak
Search-and-rescue operation enters fourth day with 108 personnel deployed
AGENCY
HULU SELANGOR – Repeated water surges triggered by heavy rain yesterday afternoon have disrupted the search for two people still missing at the Sungai Pertak picnic site in Kuala Kubu Baharu, as the search and rescue (SAR) operation entered its fourth day today.
Hulu Selangor district police chief Superintendent M. Manimaran said unpredictable weather conditions and several deep pools along Sungai Luit had hampered the search.
He said about 108 personnel from the Police, Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) and Civil Defence Force were involved in today's operation.
"Four boats were deployed in today's operation, supported by the K9 Detection Unit and the Police Air Operations Force, which used drones to extend aerial surveillance," he said at a press conference on the latest developments in the SAR operation.
Manimaran said a sixth victim, a man, was found floating near the river mouth close to Pertak Bridge at about 10.30am today, some 1.3km from the incident command post.
The body was taken to Sungai Buloh Hospital for a post-mortem examination and identification.
He said the body of another victim, a local man, was handed over to the family today for burial, while five others remained at the hospital pending post-mortem examinations and identification.
Two victims were still missing.
Meanwhile, JBPM Rawang Zone chief Mustakim Rimon said the operation also employed the sniff-and-dive technique, with the Water Rescue Team and sniffer dogs deployed on rescue boats.
He said a search in Sector A, following a report by an Orang Asli resident about a smell believed to be coming from a body, had yielded no new leads.
The search covered four sectors, A to D, stretching from Lata Jebus to Pertak Bridge and Sungai Selangor Dam, with the next phase focusing on Sector C.
Eight men, comprising one local and seven foreign nationals from Yemen, Sri Lanka, Nepal and India, went missing after being swept away by strong currents at about 5.30pm on Monday. –BERNAMA
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