Water surge tragedy: Missing eight victims identified

CHUKAI: The eight individuals, including seven family members, who are still missing in the water surge incident at Jeram Mawar waterfall, Air Putih near here on Sunday, have been identified.

Kemaman district police chief Supt Hanyan Ramlan said the family members were identified as Karim Abdullah, 39; Putri Balqis Izzati Abdul Rahman, 18; Putri Alleya Maisarah Karim, 16; Putri Nor Fatin Karim, 14; Putri Nurerina Natasya Karim, 10; Muhammad Haziq Ziqree Karim, six and Putri Aryana Umaira Karim, four.

The other person missing is Putri Balqis Izzati’s fiance, Muhammad Fikri Saliman, 24, from Batu Pahat, Johor.

Earlier the dead victims were identified as Azizah Eiyi, 40, and her son Muhammad Zulqarnain Haikal Karim, 11, were found at about 12.30pm.

Hanyan said the remains of the two victims were identified by family members at Kemaman Hospital Forensic Unit Sunday night.

"The family, from Felda Lepar Hilir, Kuantan, Pahang had been at the waterfall for a picnic since 2pm on Saturday," he told a press conference at the Kemaman district police headquarters here Sunday night.

Azizah's body was found floating by the crowd after being swept away by the currents about 24km from the scene of the incident, while Muhammad Zulqarnain Haikal was found stuck on a tree branch about two km away.

He said it is believed that Karim, who is an excavator driver in the Air Putih Forest here, was familiar with the routes at the location and was able to enter the area though the vehicle used was unsuitable.

"They might have been unaware of the sudden surge of water. If you look at the situation at the location earlier, the water level is believed to have risen by five to 10 metres during the incident, and they did not have time to escape while bathing there,” he said.

Hanyan said the search and rescue (SAR) operation involving 50 personnel from the police force, the Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), the Civil Defence Force was suspended at 6pm due to unfavourable weather conditions and would resume at 8am today.

"As of 10pm, no new discoveries had been made at the scene. Taking into account the area where the first body was discovered, the radius of our search area was 24 kilometres.

"We will begin the search tomorrow on the left and right banks for eight kilometres. We believe that the victims’ location may be far from where the incident started because they were swept away by the strong currents,” he said.

According to him, the operation would involve tracker dogs from the K9 unit of JBPM as well as assistance from other agencies and outsiders.

"In fact, if members of the public wish to help with the search, we encourage them to do so, however, they must first report themselves to the Air Putih police station. They are reminded not to conduct a search without the police’s knowledge,” he said.

He said the SAR operation tomorrow will involve three phases of the search area depending on the weather conditions.

In the meantime, he said the bodies of Azizah and Muhammad Zulqarnain Haikal will be taken to the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital in Kuala Terengganu tomorrow for a post-mortem. - Bernama