KUCHING, Jan 3: The third day of Search and Rescue (SAR) operation for a missing man in Kuala Serupai waters continued at 7 am today, focusing on land search following a lead that was found yesterday.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Bintulu Zone acting director Commander Maritime Effendy Mohamed Fadil said today, as of now, the only lead they have is a flag pole with a blinker attached to it that was found by the local folks on the nearby shoreline yesterday afternoon.
“For the land search today, we have two groups, namely Group A comprising the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) and Malaysian Civil Defense Force (APM) personnel and Group B, consisting of MMEA and the Marine Police (PPM) personnel.
“We are also using the K9 unit from Bomba to assist in the search, which will focus in the area where the item was found yesterday, with the hope of finding a new clue today,” he said in a statement.
Effendy noted that the search area will be covering 350 square nautical miles, including the coastal areas, starting from Kuala Tatau to Sungai Kemena.
Meanwhile, he said, the search at the sea today involved MMEA assets KM JEPAK and KILAT 43, with the assistance of Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) personnel and assets, together with the PPM, Bomba, APM and five SAR boats of the local villagers.
“The sea conditions were a bit rough and cloudy today, as well as raining, and made the operation a bit difficult this morning. But we are hopeful to find new clues today,” he added. — DayakDaily
