BELAGA: A river cruise around Jeram Menjawah turned tragic yesterday (June 16) when two men went missing while three others survived a boat capsizing incident at Long Menjawah, Batang Rajang.
The missing victims have been identified as 36-year-old Balavishnu Permaloo and 30-year-old Rhuban Apparoo, both from Sungai Karangan, Padang Serai, Kedah.
Meanwhile, further details and the identities of the other three survivors have not been disclosed so far.
A spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said that firefighters from the Belaga station were dispatched to the scene, about 31km away, after receiving a distress call at 4.33 pm.
Preliminary information indicated that four employees of Clinroom Industri Sdn Bhd, a maintenance company for the Bakun dam, had rented a boat from villagers to cruise around Jeram Menjawah. The boat was operated by Robert Jaang, a resident of Rh Apan.
It was reported that their boat capsized due to the strong current in Jeram Menjawah. The operator attempted to save all the passengers, but two of them were swept away by the strong current.
Authorities have initiated a search and rescue (SAR) operation for the missing victims, and efforts are underway.
At the time of writing, Balavishnu and Rhuban have yet to be found.
