KOTA KINABALU: A late evening attempt to cross a flooded road ended in tragedy in Tawau when a four-wheel drive vehicle was swept away by strong currents.
The incident on Thursday night at Kampung Sungai Udin claimed the life of one man while three others narrowly escaped.
The four men in their 20s and 30s were travelling in a pickup truck through floodwaters.
The vehicle was carrying two motorcycles at the rear, with two of the men seated at the back to hold the motorcycles in place.
At about 9pm, floodwaters dragged the vehicle off the road.
All four men attempted to swim to safety, but one man in his 30s, who had been at the back of the truck, failed to make it out.
Tawau Fire and Rescue Department operations chief Zougarana Konin said they received an emergency call at 9.34pm but reached the scene nearly an hour later, as it was about 45km away and road conditions were poor.
“Three men were found safe while another was reported missing.
“His body was recovered at about 7.15am yesterday, roughly 800m from the point where he was last seen,” he said in a statement.
Search and rescue teams conducted a surface search along the riverbank, covering a radius of about 1km from where the victim fell into the water.
The victim’s body was later handed over to the police for further action.
The vehicle and the two motorcycles were not recovered.
Tawau fire station chief Jemishin Ujin said operations at the site concluded at 8.44am yesterday.
