By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 15: Divers have recovered the body of the driver of a 4WD vehicle that plunged into the river from Tun Salahudin Bridge at around 10am this morning.
The victim has been identified as a 62-year-old Chinese man.
The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) diving unit resumed the search operation at 8.45am, supported by personnel from Bomba Tabuan Jaya Station, the Marine Police Region 5, and the River Patrol Unit.
During the first dive at 9.32am, the team located the submerged vehicle and confirmed that a victim was still trapped inside. In a second dive at 9.50am, divers successfully extricated and recovered the body.
A crane truck was deployed to retrieve the vehicle from the river, and that operation is still ongoing.
The victim’s body was transported to the Marine Department’s jetty following the recovery.
A third dive was conducted to ensure no other victims were inside the vehicle.
The incident was first reported by a witness late Wednesday night (May 14), who spotted the pickup truck parked near the river-facing side of the bridge at around 10pm.
Approximately 30 minutes later, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward and plunged into the river. It was briefly caught on a steel structure beneath the bridge before falling into the water.
An initial search conducted by Bomba divers that night reached depths of about 5.7 metres but failed to locate the vehicle due to poor visibility. The operation was suspended overnight.
At approximately 8.15am today, traces of petrol—believed to be from the vehicle—were observed on the water’s surface about 10 metres from the last known location, prompting divers to resume their search. — DayakDaily
