Water surge tragedy: SAR operation enters fourth day to find last victims

CHUKAI: The search and rescue (SAR) operation to find the last two victims of the Jeram Air Putih water surge incident, here, resumed at 9 am today.

Putri Nur Fatin Karim, 14, and Muhammad Fikri Saliman, 24, are among 10 people involved in this water surge incident. The bodies of the other eight victims have been found.

Today's search is focused on sectors B and C, with the SAR team in sector A reduced to only 20 personnel involving the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) as well as the K9 tracker dog unit.

The search in sector B has been divided into two subsections comprising 30 and 38 personnel respectively, whereas the remainder of the SAR members will focus between sector C and the garbage trap area in Sungai Kemaman.

According to Terengganu JBPM Zone 2 chief, Senior Superintendent II Azman Alias, a team of divers from the JBPM Water Rescue Team (PPDA) and PDRM Marine Police will also be mobilised for the search.

"Today, the search methods will be expanded to include search on land as well as via water rafting, in addition to using the tracker dogs," he said when met at the Air Putih police station's operations control centre, here today.

"The weather condition is good and the water level of the river has returned to normal since it did not rain yesterday," he said.

Yesterday, the operation was suspended at 6.30 pm, but was resumed at 9 pm following new leads with the search focussing on sector C and halted at midnight after still failing to find the victims.

A family of nine from Felda Lepar Hilir, Kuantan, Pahang and another individual from Batu Pahat, Johor, who was engaged to a member of the family, had gone on a picnic to the Air Putih waterfalls on Saturday.

They are believed to have been swept away by strong currents caused by the water surge.

The bodies of eight of the seven victims have been found, with seven of them buried last night.

The remains of Azizah and her husband Karim Abdullah, 39, and their five children, namely Muhammad Zulqarnain Haikal Karim, 11; Putri Nurerina Natasya, 10; Muhammad Haziq Ziqree Karim, 6; Putri Aryana Umaira Karim, 4, and Putri Balqis Izzati Abdul Rahman, 18, were buried in one grave.

The body of the eighth victim, Putri Alleya Maisarah Karim, 16, which was found yesterday, is still at a hospital for autopsy.

-- BERNAMA