Petronas drone helps find missing O&G pipeline inspector in Baram

SAR team bringing Douglas Tibi out of the forest after he was found.

BARAM, Nov 14: A man reported missing while inspecting Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP) near Long Jegan Tinjar was found with the help of a drone this morning.

Douglas Tibi from Satok Bridge Area Consultancy & Engineering Services went missing after being separated from his colleagues while they were inspecting the slopes along the 4km pipeline yesterday.

Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) in a statement disclosed that the victim was reported missing at 6.30am by his colleagues after failing to find him since then.

According to a police report lodged by his colleague, while they were inspecting the KM384 pipeline at about 3pm, Douglas had told him to walk ahead.

“Douglas instructed me to go ahead and he would follow. Soon, I realised he was no longer behind me. However, I continued to proceed with the inspection work along the pipeline because I thought he will follow me.

Upon completion of my inspection at 6.30pm,I saw our driver Willie Jok waiting for us at the end of the pipeline. We waited for Douglas until 8pm and before we decided to look for him. We went through 400 meters along the pipeline but we could not find him,” the statement said.

Upon receiving the emergency call at 6.30am today, a team of firefighters from Lopeng led by its station chief PKPgB Terry Robson Fire Brigade immediately embarked on a four-hour journey through timber logging road to the scene.

An update at 10.31am from Bomba operations centre disclosed that Douglas has been found by the Petronas team with the help of their drone some 2km away from where he was last seen by his colleague.

He was also reportedly injured.

Meanwhile, in the latest update from Bomba at 5.30pm, it took firefighters about 45 minutes of jungle hike before they arrived at the location where Douglas was found.

Although he sprained his left leg. Douglas was able to walk slowly on his own, with the help of SAR team and was safely taken out of the forest.

He was then taken to Long Lama clinic for medical treatment. – DayakDaily