JITRA: A 29-year old man drowned after he is believed to have lost control of the car he was driving, which plunged into an irrigation canal along Jalan Lana Bulu, Kerpan near here.
In the 3.30am incident, a few villagers nearby were awaken by a loud crashing noise and alerted the Fire and Rescue Department.
The Department's public relations officer Supt Nur Hafizah Muhammad Lukman said the Jitra station received the call at about 3.39am and its fire engine arrived at the scene about 23 km away at 4.11am.
Besides the fire engine, an emergency medical rescue services (EMRS) vehicle, an aluminium boat and a Mitsubishi Pajero utility vehicle were despatched to carry out the search and rescue task.
The body of the driver, Lim Keat Siong, 29, from Mukim Jerlun, was found at about 7.55am by members of the Department's scuba team.
The body was handed over to the police and later sent to the Jitra Hospital mortuary.
A check at the scene by The Star saw hundreds of villagers gathered at the banks of the canal, watching the scuba team carrying out the search and rescue operation.
A collapsed lamppost was also seen on the left side of the road.
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