KOTA KINABALU: The body of a six-year-old girl, the last missing victim in a tragic drowning incident in Sandakan, has been found, bringing an end to the three-day search operation.
Sandakan Fire and Rescue Station chief Severinus Sainkui said local fishermen discovered the girl's body near Pulau Berhala at 5.44pm on Tuesday (April 1), some 3km away from where she was last seen.
"The victim was handed over to the rescue team before her family identified her at 8.25pm," he said in a statement on Tuesday (April 1).
In the tragedy that took place in the early hours of Sunday (March 30), a 29-year-old mother took her two children, aged five and six, out to sea.
Witnesses saw her holding their hands before they all went into the water, prompting nearby passers-by to rush in to save them.
The woman was rescued, but her 22-year-old male cousin, who also jumped in to help, disappeared underwater along with the two children.
It is still unknown why the mother went into the water with her children.
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