LANGKAWI: When the beautiful Telaga Tujuh Waterfall in the island turned into a raging river, brave firemen overcame the elements to rescue 42 hikers cut off by the river’s powerful flow.
During the five-hour mission, a dozen firemen, with help from the police, used rope and carabiners meant for rock climbing as safety lines and harnesses for the rescue mission.
Kedah Fire and Rescue Department director Sayani Saidon said firemen faced bad weather and had to travel for about 30km from the nearest station to reach the stranded hikers.
Dangerous mission: Firemen using rope and carabiners to rescue the group of hikers trapped across the river near Telaga Tujuh Waterfall in Langkawi, Kedah.“We received a distress call about the trapped hikers, aged between 30 and 40, at 10.16am.
“It was raining heavily and the river current was very strong,” he said, adding that the rescue was completed at 3pm.
Sayani added that continuous rainfall left many parts of Kedah inundated, with some areas suffering from major flooding.
In Langkawi, the flood in Kampung Teluk Yu in Ayer Hangat reached dangerous levels.
Other areas on the island such as Kampung Belanga Pecah, Kampung Kilim, Bukit Kemboja, Sungai Melaka, Empangan Padang Saga and Kampung Telaga Ayer Hangat were not spared.
Malaysia Meteorological Department issued an alert of continuous rain in Perlis and parts of Kedah that will last until today.
Bernama reported on Saturday that three areas in Kangar, Perlis, were hit by flash floods.
According to a Perlis Civil Defence Force spokesman, the areas affected were Kampung Sentua, Kampung Seriab and Kampung Bakau.
Perlis Civil Defence Force urged those in need of assistance to contact 04-977 7991/8991 or its disaster management operations room at 04-976 0991.
A check by Bernama at Titi Chai, Kangar, found residents bracing for the floods, including moving their household appliances to higher places.
