SEBUYAU: The new year started off tragically for the state.
A four-month-old baby and eight other individuals were killed after a four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle they were in plunged into Batang Lupar from Triso ferry this afternoon (Jan 1).
The State Fire Department operations centre received a distress call around 3.15pm and dispatched firemen from Simunjan and Saratok fire stations to the scene.
Videos that went viral in social media, showed residents in the area pulling the nine victims out of the river with the help of the ferry and bulldozer.
It is understood that the victims were immediately given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the scene.
Firemen from Saratok who arrived at the scene at 5.30pm confirmed that the victims included four females.
The victims have been identified as Siti Aisha Abdullah, 36; Ronany Ting, 33; Mohd Ahmad Mohd Hamdan, four months old; Muhd Mustaqim Mohd Hamdan, five; Mohd Aiman Mohd Hamdan, seven; Wallace Phang, seven; Alvin Phang, 12; Khairunnisa Muhamad, 14; and Nor Shuhada Mohamad, 16.
The bodies were taken to the Beladin health clinic for a post-mortem. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
