KOTA KINABALU: A Chinese couple’s diving trip to Sipadan Island in Semporna turned tragic when the man ended up drowning.
The 37-year-old victim and his wife were with a group of other divers and their guides prior to the accident on Monday morning.
According to Semporna OCPD Supt Mohd Sabri Zainol, police received a call about the death of a Chinese tourist at around 6.45pm.
“The call from one of the dive masters informed us that he and four other guides had brought with them a total of eight divers of various nationalities to the dive site,” he said in a statement.
At around 10.45am, one of the divers jumped into the sea without permission from his guide, he said. Supt Sabri said the boatman saw the victim panicking and going underwater, so he informed the crew, prompting an emergency search and rescue effort.
The divers found the victim unconscious at a depth of about 25m underwater and quickly brought him up to the surface, he said, adding that emergency resuscitation was performed on the boat.
“The victim remained unconscious; he was barely breathing and vomited a few times,” he said.
The victim was first taken to the Semporna Hospital for treatment before being transferred to the Tawau Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said Supt Sabri.
“We have classified this case as sudden death and a post-mortem will be conducted,” he said.
He urged those with more information to come forward and assist police investigations by calling Asst Supt Mohammad Ali Amat at 013-212 0852 or going to the nearest police station.
In another case in Kuala Lumpur, Bernama reported that an 11-year-old Rohingya girl has gone missing after being swept away by strong currents in a drain in front of the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) Hall in Kampung Cheras Baru.
Ampang Jaya Police Chief ACP Mohd Azam Ismail said police were alerted about the incident at 6.07pm on Monday via the District Control Centre of the Ampang Jaya District Police Headquarters.
“Police and personnel from the fire and rescue department were dispatched to the scene, where they were informed that two girls had fallen into the drain. One of the girls, a 10-year-old Rohingya, was rescued by members of the public,” he said in a report.
He added that a rescue team is conducting search and rescue operations for the second child.
“The search and rescue operation was called off at 10.30pm due to darkness and rain and will resume tomorrow at 8am,” he said. He urged anyone with information about the incident to contact the police to assist with the investigation.
