DARO: A four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle driven by a 25-year-old man, was reported to have plunged into Batang Lassa river from a bridge which is under construction across the river this morning (Aug 13).
A spokesperson for the State Fire Department operations centre said the incident was noticed by a witness who saw the vehicle’s lights at the bridge.
“The witness saw the light from the vehicle on the bridge and then, it suddenly disappeared. The witness also informed that the fence at the end of the bridge was damaged.
“Following the incident, firemen from Daro station were despatched to the scene after receiving an emergency call around 4.45am,” the spokesperson said.
It is believed that the vehicle with its driver inside had plunged into the river and sank, about 800 meters from the riverbank.
Firefighters and police conducted a search operation with surface searching and grappling iron method on three tugboats.
At 11.15am, the search team managed to find the vehicle’s windshield pierced by an iron barrier with the help of a crane.
The search team marked the location of the windshield with a buoy and the firemen searched the area using a grappling iron. As of 2.30pm, the search was still ongoing.
The search operation involved personnel from Daro fire station, Sarawak River Board, Civil Defense Force (APM) and the People Volunteer’s Corp (Rela).
