Three drown in sea off Bagan Lalang

Three of five relatives who were bathing in the sea off Bagan Lalang yesterday drowned after they were trapped by high tide.

They were S. Mariayee, 59, K. Saresh, 15, and R. Sivaneswaran, 30, said KLIA Zone Fire and Rescue assistant superintendent Akmal Azizi Elias.

He said Mariayee's body was recovered by the beach soon after the incident which happened at about 4 pm, Saresh's body at 11.30 am today and Sivaneswaran's at 2.45 pm today.

The bodies were taken to the Seremban Hospital, he added.

Akmal Azizi told reporters that the two others, a 19-year-old boy and a 21-year-old woman, were rescued and were reported to be stable in hospital.

He said the Fire and Rescue Unit was summoned at 5.40 pm and firemen rushed there along with personnel from the Department of Civil Defence and the People's Volunteer Corps (Rela).

A 'kelong' worker, Khairul Afzan, 29, managed to save two men who almost drowned.

"I advised them earlier to be careful but did not think that this tragedy would have happened," he said.

Khairul said he saw three other people struggling in the water and approached them fast with his boat.

"I hauled them up. One of them was already dead and the two others were gasping for breath," he said.