Grief of man who lost daughter and grandkids

KUALA TERENGGANU: Sixty-year-old Eiyi Johari was a happy man when he celebrated Hari Raya Haji with his family last Thursday.

But in the blink of an eye, his world came crashing down.

He lost his daughter Azizah, son-in-law and possibly seven grandchildren in the water surge tragedy at the Jeram Air Putih waterfall on Saturday. Six of them were Azizah’s children.

All of them had travelled from their homes near Kuantan in Pahang for a picnic in Air Putih near Chukai in Terengganu before tragedy struck.

Gone in the blink of an eye: Azizah, Karim and their children in a family photograph. — Bernama

Eiyi, however, has accepted the untimely death of his daughter and his grandchildren as fate.

ALSO READ : Search over 32km for missing victims of water surge

Besides Azizah, who was the third of seven siblings, the others killed in the tragedy were her husband Karim Abdullah, 39, and seven children.

“I accept this as fate. On the day of the incident, I went to work and was informed by my wife that the family was having a picnic.

“They do not live in the same house as us but stay in the same village. Her husband used to commute from Felda Lepar Hilir to Air Putih every day,” he said when met at the Forensic Department of the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital (HSNZ) here yesterday.

It is learnt that Karim had only started work in Air Putih about a month ago.

On Sunday, Bernama reported that 10 people, nine of them from a family from Felda Lepar Hilir, Kuantan, were having a picnic at Jeram Mawar near Chukai on Saturday when they were swept away by the water surge.

Remains recovered: Three bodies being taken to the Forensic Department at Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah in Kuala Terengganu. — Bernama

The two victims, who were found by the public at noon on Sunday, were identified as Azizah, 40, and her 11-year-old son Muhammad Zulqarnain Haikal Karim.

ALSO READ : ‘Be wary of waterfalls’

Yesterday, four more bodies were found during the search and rescue operation. Four people are still missing.

The search operations were called off at 5pm yesterday due to indications of heavy rain.

The search will resume today.

Nine of the victims are related.

They also include Karim; 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 is Putri Balqis Izzati’s fiance, Muhammad Fikri Saliman, 24, from Batu Pahat, Johor, who had joined the family during the picnic outing. The two were due to be married in December.

Terengganu tourism, culture and digital technology committee chairman Ariffin Deraman visited the victims’ families and offered personal donations yesterday.

He said the tragedy was an unforeseen incident because it occurred outside of the monsoon season.

Ariffin said the public should check the weather forecast before going to water recreation areas, adding that the Malaysian Meteorological Department has issued a warning of heavy rain and thunderstorms in the northern states until July 5.

A picnic gone wrong: The victims’ car and some of the belongings that were found at Air Putih near Chukai. — Bernama

Meanwhile, the preliminary report on the tragedy is expected to be completed soon, said Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

He said the Department of Minerals and Geosciences (JMG) is still conducting inspections at the scene and the police are also investigating.

“The report is expected to be ready soon,” he told reporters after visiting a project site to build and upgrade the sewage system in Kelantan near Taman Wadi Iman, Kok Lanas.