KOTA KINABALU: A 61-year-old man who went searching for birds' nests at the Tepadung cave in Lahad Datu has been reported missing.
The victim, Ismail Ibrahim, was last seen by two of his friends who were with him at the site on Tuesday (May 26).
Lahad Datu fire station chief Sumsoa Rashid said the trio entered the cave to search for birds' nests together.
Two of them left the cave in search of water halfway through the activity.
They left Ismail alone, and he was nowhere to be seen when they returned to the location, Sumsoa said.
The two men tried searching for their friend but failed, and they later alerted his family in Sandakan.
Firefighters received a call to help in the search for the missing man at 2.10pm on Sunday (May 31), and a manhunt was immediately mounted.
"We joined other search and rescue units from the police, Civil Defence Force, Rela, Forestry Department and the public to find Ismail," said Sumsoa.
He said the search radius initially focused on where the victim was last seen and areas where he could have gone.
The search operations continued on Monday (June 1) by exploring further into the cave.
Sumsoa added that rescuers found a powerbank believed to belong to the victim, but the man was not in sight.
"We have discovered a new tunnel which could be explored as well, and we believe this tunnel has never been entered by anyone," he said.
Rescuers will enter the new passage after equipping themselves better for safety reasons.
