KOTA KINABALU: The body of a Sabah Electricity personnel who was swept away by river currents after carrying out power connection works in the Keningau district has finally been found.
Masedeh Rosmin, 35, was found by a group of volunteers near the Liau Laut area at around 6.18pm, said Keningau Fire Station chief Severinus Mohd Nizam Sainkui.
“Firemen on search and rescue helped to bring the victim out of the choppy waters before handing him over to the police for further action,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Sept 18).
Masedeh was among three Sabah Electricity personnel who were washed away by river currents when they tried to cross a flooded bridge in their company vehicle.
Two of them, Airil Sunsai, 24, and Zictor Banati, 38, managed to save themselves during the incident at around 9pm on Tuesday (Sept 16).
After the incident, rescuers, along with villagers, searched for the victim. He was seen once, at around 1.15am, in Sungai Kepayan, before he went underwater and was carried away by strong currents again.
Earlier on Thursday morning (Sept 18), search and rescue focused their operation on the Liau Laut river area after a single shoe, believed to have been worn by the victim before the incident, was found there.
“Drones were used to search for the victim while villagers who formed a team called Team Galen Star, braved the currents to try and locate the victim,” said Severinus.
Masedeh’s body was later taken to the hospital for a post-mortem, and on-site operations were completed not long afterwards.
Earlier, Sabah Electricity Chief Executive Officer Datuk Mohd Yaakob Jaafar broke down when sharing a live update on the power restoration works, which was finally completed after four gruesome days of non-stop work.
He thanked his staff for their dedication to beat the odds amid the rain, flood and landslides to serve the people.
