SANDAKAN: The body of a seven-year-old schoolgirl who was feared to have drowned on Saturday after a boat capsized, was found around 6am yesterday underneath a house at a water village in Sungai Batu by villagers.
Noor Suhana Jusly, the daughter of a fisherman, was among eight other students who boarded the boat to go back to their homes at Kampung Berhala Laut after finishing their afternoon school session on Saturday, which was a replacement school day.
The eight other students were rescued by nearby villagers who saw the boat overturned after it was hit by strong waves about 1.8 kilometres from the school, while Noor Suhana was reported missing.
According to the commanding officer of Sandakan Marine Operation Force, ASP Gan Ping Sin, the body, which was still clad in school uniform, was found about 2.2 nautical miles away from the scene.
He said the body of Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanjung Papat 2 student at Sim-Sim here had been sent to the Duchess of Kent Hospital for a post-mortem.
Meanwhile, the headmaster of SK Tanjung Papat 2, Azmi Musa, said this was the first such incident happened to students from the school.