CHUKAI: The search and rescue (SAR) operation for the remaining four victims of the water surge incident in Jeram Air Putih here resumed at 9 am today.
The missing individuals are Putri Balqis Izzati Abdul Rahman, 18; Putri Alleya Maisarah Karim, 16; Putri Nor Fatin Karim, 14; and Muhammad Fikri Saliman, 24.
The SAR operation still focused on sectors A, B and C along Sungai Air Putih, Sungai Teladas and Sungai Pinang with a search radius of 35 kilometres, involving 168 members from various agencies.
The search team is also assisted by two more tracker dogs from the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department’s K9 unit.
Yesterday, four bodies were found in sectors A and B between 11 am and 1 pm, namely Karim Abdullah, 39; Putri Aryana Umaira Karim, 4; Muhammad Haziq Ziqree Karim, 6; and Putri Nurerina Natasya Karim, 10.
On Sunday, the bodies of Azizah Eyei, 40, and Muhammad Zulqarnain Haikal Karim, 11, were found by members of the public about 24 km and two km from the scene of the incident, respectively.
All the bodies were taken to the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital in Kuala Terengganu for post-mortem and will be brought home to Felda Lepar Hilir, Kuantan, Pahang for burial.
The media previously reported that Karim, Azizah and their seven children, as well as Putri Balqis Izzati’s fiance Muhammad Fikri, went for a picnic at the location on Saturday before being swept away by a water surge phenomenon.
Meanwhile, a victim’s sister, Siti Aisyah Eiyi, 39, said she had to turn down the invitation by her sister Azizah, 40, to join a picnic on Saturday, due to work commitments.
Siti Aisyah, when met at the operations control centre at the Air Putih police station here, said her sister had also invited her family, their mother Halimah Kassim, 60, and their other siblings to picnic there several times before.
“The last day we saw each other was on Aidiladha. At that time, my sister earnestly invited us all to join her family for a picnic there but each of us had other things to do.
“My sister (Azizah) was in a cheerful mood when she invited us all, we were at our mother’s house at that time. But I was unable to join them due to work commitments,” she said, adding that she only discovered about the horrifying incident when informed by the police who were at their mother’s house on Sunday (July 2).
Siti Aisyah, who came to the operations control centre here to identify the bodies, said she was grateful that her sister’s body was found yesterday by the public.
Azizah was the first victim to be discovered out of all 10 victims involved in the tragedy. Her body was found floating 24 kilometres from the scene of incident at 12.30 pm. – BERNAMA
