Search for flood victim called off due to bad weather

A search and rescue (SAR) operation for an Indonesian woman, believed to have been swept away by strong currents at the Bertam River in Ringlet here Wednesday, was called off at 6pm due to bad weather.

Cameron Highlands police chief DSP Mohd Zahari Wan Busu said the operation to locate the victim, identified only as Jarwati, would resume Thursday at 8am.

He said the police, together with the Cameron Highlands Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Department and Malaysian Armed Forces would expand the area of search at the river.

He said Jarwati, 24, was believed to have been swept away by strong currents at 2am.

Speaking to reporters here Wednesday, Mohd Zahari told reporters the SAR operation involved 293 people, including the police, adding that a tracker dog unit was also deployed.

In the incident at 1am, two people drowned and one succumbed to a heart attack as 80 houses were destroyed by a flash flood in the Bertam Valley after the Bertam River burst its banks.

The incident was said to have occurred, following the release of water from the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in Ringlet.

To date, 10 families have been evacuated to a temporary relief centre at the multipurpose hall in Ringlet.

Meanwhile, Mohd Zahari reminded residents to be sensitive to the warning siren which would be turned on by the authorities for security purposes and as directive on the flash flood.