MIRI: A 55-year-old man reported missing in a jungle behind Bumiko area on Thursday evening, was found alive by the Search and Rescue (SAR) team on Friday morning, after more than 18 hours alone in the wild.
The SAR team is pictured with Su after they found him early Friday morning.
Su was sitting under a large Ficus tree (Pokok Ara) when the SAR found him.
Michael Su, a freelance architect from Kuala Lumpur, had gone into the jungle nearby Bumiko area in the afternoon to inspect the site which was proposed to be a development project.
Su was found at incredibly, only a mere 100 metres within the main entrance into the jungle by the SAR team comprising of \Bomba, \Civil Defence Department \ and the police.
Miri police chief ACP Gan Tian Kee confirmed receiving a report lodged on the missing architect when he could not be contacted on his cellphone by his friend.
Fearing for his safety, they immediately mounted a search for him.
“We went into the jungle looking for Su, shouting out his name, hoping that he could hear us,” said one of Su’s co-workers to The Borneo Post when met at the scene on Thursday night.
When they failed to locate Su, they alerted the authorities for help.
Fire and Rescue Department received the distress call at about 5pm on Thursday.
Fortunately, Su was found around 7.30am on Friday by the SAR team and he has been sent to recover in Miri Hospital.
“When we saw tree branches from one section of the area (within the jungle) being shaken… we immediately walked towards the tree and saw Su waving at us with a pale and weak face,” one of the rescuers told The Borneo Post.
Meanwhile, Su when met by The Borneo Post on Friday profusely gave credit to the SAR team.
“I’m blessed to be alive,” he said.
Su did not sustain any serious injuries, apart from minor scratches on his arms and legs.
“I had nothing to eat or drink for the few hours while lost in the jungle, all I could think of at that moment was to keep on surviving to find my way out,” said Su.
He had arrived from Kuala Lumpur on Thursday morning to inspect the project site (located within the jungle) for a company here and was scheduled to fly back on Saturday.