BANDAR PERMAISURI: A university student from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) drowns while on a trip with seven other friends during the Vesak Day public holiday at Lata Changkah in Terengganu.
One of the victim’s friends, Muhammad Hady Izzudyn Ikmal Hisam, 23, stated it was their first visit to the waterfall.
He said that during the incident, the victim, Wan Ahmad Irfan Wan Abdullah Thani, 24, was taking a dip with six other friends in the middle section of the waterfall cascade.
"I was ashore to get a drink. Then, I saw the six of them moving further toward the centre (of the waterfall) and worryingly, they couldn't swim.
"Not long after, I saw them all starting to struggle. I immediately rushed to help and saved five of them with the public's help. But we couldn't find Wan Ahmad Irfan," he said when met at the scene on Monday (May 12).
Meanwhile, operations commander Zuraidi Mohd Yusuf from the Setiu fire and rescue station (BBP Setiu) said they received a distress call about the incident at 3.42pm before dispatching 10 personnel to the waterfall.
The search and rescue operation for the Faculty of Law student reportedly began at 4pm before Wan Ahmad Irfan's body was recovered from the bottom of the pool at a depth of 4.5 metres, some 28 minutes later.
"Five of the victim's friends, who nearly drowned, were sent to the Setiu Hospital for treatment of near-drowning injuries, while the deceased student's body was handed over to police for further action.
"The public is advised to always be cautious about weather conditions. While it wasn't raining at the waterfall during the incident, the murky water is an indication that rainfall occurred upstream (danger of surging currents)," he said. – Bernama
