Yan floods: Body of fifth victim recovered

YAN: The fifth victim of the water surges incident in Gunung Jerai was found in an area near Titi Hayun, here at 3.23 pm today.

Search and rescue teams recovered the victim's body, identified as Ku Shuib Ku Abdullah, 91, under piles of logs near Chalet Putri Ayu, 1.5 kilometres from where he was reported missing during the incident on Wednesday evening.

Kedah Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director Sayani Saidon said the teams took five minutes to extricate the body from under the debris.

"The victim's body was handed over to the police and taken to Yan Hospital," he told reporters today.

He said the victim, who was an imam, was reportedly last seen in the recreation area at Chalet Salak Denai in Batu Hampar.

He added that search efforts would now concentrate on locating another missing victim in the area where the bodies of the second and third victims were recovered near Titi Hayun.

Meanwhile, Yan District police chief DSP Shahnaz Akhtar Haji said based on the discovery of the body today, search operation is expected to carry out digging works and removal of debris, adding several areas have been marked for tomorrow's operation.

"Hopefully we will find new clues tomorrow," he said.

He said following the discovery of the fifth body, the search and rescue operation in the Batu Hampar area would be moved to Titi Hayun to intensify the search for the last victim identified as Ridwan Poninan, 61.

On Wednesday, several villages and residential areas around Gunung Jerai here were hit by floods, believed to have been caused by water surges from the waterfall areas at the foot of the mountain.

-- BERNAMA