KOTA KINABALU: A swimming outing on a sunny day for four friends turned tragic when one of them went missing but whose body was later found the next day.
Kota Belud Fire Station Chief, Muhammad Syazwan Latun said Lysbet Tom Jones, 10, was spending a fun day with three friends in Kg Piasau, Kota Belud before the tragic incident occurred.
He said the weather was clear and the river currents were normal, as per reported during the incident.
“However, we are not sure what actually happened as the witnesses were too traumatised to share information at that time,” he said when contacted.
Muhammad said they received a distress call at 2.41pm on Saturday (Dec 7), and a team comprising divers and search and rescuers was dispatched.
“We also had assistance from other rescue agencies such as the marine, police, Rela personnel, villagers and health officials in this operation.
“Search efforts lasted till 11.30pm on Saturday and continued at 8am Sunday (Dec 8), where the victim was later discovered at 8.36am, some 600m from where she was last seen,” Muhammad said.
He said the victim was brought to shore where she was pronounced dead by medical officials on site, before the body was handed over to the cops for further action.
Operations on site ended at 9.40am, with no other casualties reported.
