Man falls ill camping in Beluran, dies before authorities reach him

KOTA KINABALU: A man who fell ill during a hiking trip has been found dead in his tent in Sabah’s interior Beluran district.

The 24-year-old Indonesian was with two friends prior to that, and he had complained of bodily pains and could not continue the journey with them.

Sabah Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Hamsa Isnurdini said they received a call about the incident near Borneo Timber Sungai in Pinangah Beluran, at around 6.30am on Friday (June 23).

"The callers told us that there was a very sick man in the forest and that they needed help to get him to the hospital," he said in a statement, Sunday (June 25).

He said the department later got another call at around 2.25pm the same day, saying that the victim had died.

A team was already on its way to the scene, which was far from the main road, Hamsa said.

When they reached the scene, they saw the deceased victim inside the tent, he said.

He said due to weather and geographical conditions where the terrain was slippery and steep, rescuers could not continue their way out of the forest with the body (110kg) on the same day, and had to wait until 5am Saturday (June 24), to continue.

Hamsa said it was also already too dark and dangerous for them to continue that same night on Friday.

When they finally brought the victim out and handed the body to the police, medical officials at site confirmed the man dead.

The case is now being handled by the police and the cause of death is being investigated.