KAPIT: The bodies of three people, who were reported missing after their boat capsized at Batang Baleh last Thursday (Mar 7), have been found and identified by the authorities.
They are Sgt Jonathan Lambet, 51, and civilians Jack Balan, 44 and Amerson John Nain, 47.
A fourth victim identified as Constable Iskandar Ibrahim, 28, is yet to be found.
A spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said that the three bodies were found and retrieved on the third day of the search and rescue (SAR) operation on Saturday (Mar 9).
The first finding was that of Jack’s body which was floating in Pulau Kerto waters around 10am.
Amerson’s body was discovered afloat in Batang Lebaan around 12pm and Jonathan’s body was spotted floating near the Kapit market around 4pm.
At the time of writing, rescuers were still searching for Iskandar.
The fourth day of SAR yesterday (Mar 10), involved rescuers and personnel from Kapit and Song stations, Kapit police and the police drone unit, Sibu marine police, Resident’s Office, Civil Defence Force (APM) and Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB).
According to a statement by Kapit police chief DSP Rohana Nanu, five passengers had boarded a boat carrying 35kg of explosives and detonators from Kuching to Nanga Tulie.
Two of the five passengers were policemen attached to the Kapit district police headquarters (IPD) while, the other three were civilians.
“Upon reaching the scene around 5pm, the boat veered slightly upstream and encountered swirling water, causing it to capsize.
“One of them, identified as 47-year-old Moses Ngui, was rescued by the public while, the other four went missing,” she said.
They were believed to have been swept away by strong currents.
