By DayakDaily Team
KANOWIT, Sept 25: The body of a 54-year-old barge worker who fell into the Rajang River while defecating at the end of a barge yesterday has been recovered today.
The victim was last seen falling off a barge being towed by a tugboat about 2km from Kanowit town on Wednesday morning (Sept 24).
A witness on board, Wan Ngu, reported seeing the victim plunge into the river during the incident.
Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Kanowit received a distress call at around 10.40am yesterday and immediately launched a search and rescue (SAR) operation together with the police and Civil Defence Force (APM).
However, efforts on the first day failed to locate the victim.
On the second day of the operation today, at about 8.57am, a member of the public discovered a body floating about 5km from the SAR operation post.
Rescuers retrieved the remains and brought them to Kanowit town jetty.
Family members who were present at the jetty confirmed the identity of the deceased. The body was later handed over to the police for further action.
The SAR operation officially ended at 10.30am. — DayakDaily
