By DayakDaily Team
LINGGA, June 2: A 42-year-old man is feared drowned after a boat carrying nine people capsized following an engine failure at Sungai Banting, near RH Charang, earlier today.
According to initial information, the incident occurred at about 1.15pm when the boat reportedly suffered engine failure while on the river.
The vessel was then carried by strong currents and drifted sideways into a bridge pillar before overturning.
Eight of the passengers were successfully rescued by villagers who rushed to the scene using nearby boats.
However, one victim was seen clinging to a bridge pillar during the chaotic moment. When villagers attempted to reach him, he was believed to have submerged and was subsequently swept away by the strong current.
The Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Sri Aman received the emergency call at 1.15pm and arrived at the scene at about 2.45pm, covering a distance of approximately 40 kilometres.
Operation commander PBK I Fadli Buyong is leading the search and rescue operation, which involved firefighters working alongside villagers to locate the missing man using surface water search methods at the area where he was last seen.
Search efforts are ongoing as of press time. — DayakDaily
