Last two missing quake victims identified — Sabah police

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Combination photo shows Navdeep Singh Jaryal Raj Kumar (left) and Mohammad Ghazi Mohamed.

Combination photo shows Navdeep Singh Jaryal Raj Kumar (left) and Mohammad Ghazi Mohamed.

KOTA KINABALU: The last remaining two missing victims of Friday’s earthquake in Ranau have been identified by forensic teams.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said the verification was made after DNA samples of the two Singaporeans were identified by the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) teams from Malaysia and Singapore.

“DVI teams were able to identify the identity of the victims through body parts retrieved from the scene,” he told a press conference at the state police headquarters in Kepayan here yesterday.

Also present was Sabah CID chief SAC Salehhudin Abdul Rahman.

The two missing Singaporeans have been identified as Navdeep Singh Jaryal s/o Raj Kumar, 13, and Mohammad Ghazi Mohamed, 35.

Navdeep and Mohammad were among 18 people killed in Friday’s earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale with its epicentre in Ranau at 7.15am on June 5.

Among those killed in the disaster were four mountain guides — Sabahans Ricky Masirin, 28, Valerian Joannes, 27, Robbi Sapinggi, 31, and Singaporean Muhammad Daanish Amran, 32.

The 12 other casualties were three Malaysians — Muhamad Loqman bin Abd Karim, 22, Lim Choon Seng, 45, and Joseph Selungin, 32, seven Singaporeans — Wei Ying Ping, 12, Emilie Giovanna Ramu, 12, Sonia Jhala, 12, Rachel Ho Yann Shiun @ He Yanxuan, 12, Ameer Ryyan Bin Mohd Adeed Sanjay, 12, Loo Jian Liang, and Terrence Sebastian, 29, Filipino Karyl Mitzi Higuit Matahom, 12, China’s Luqi, 35, and a 29-year-old man from Japan.

Jalaluddin said the bodies of 16 victims would be handed over to their family members after post-mortems were completed.

Only the bodies of Luqi and the 29-year-old man from Japan are still waiting for a post-mortem.

Jalaluddin said the Ops Gempa SAR operation officially ended yesterday at noon after five days of continuous SAR operations that began on the day of the tragic incident.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Ministry of Education said the next-of-kin of Navdeep and Mohammad Ghazi had been informed.

“Their remains will return to Singapore upon completion of further forensic tests.

“This is expected to take some time.

“We will continue to provide support to the families during this difficult time,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday.

The June 5 earthquake that struck Sabah has now claimed the lives of 10 people from Singapore – seven pupils and two teachers from Tanjong Katong Primary, and the adventure guide who accompanied them on the trip to Mount Kinabalu.

Search operations to locate the bodies of Navdeep, 13, and Ghazi, 35, were suspended on Monday due to heavy fog.

Rescue workers had resumed their search early Tuesday morning.

Last Saturday (June 6), Navdeep’s sister had posted on Twitter that she was holding out for a miracle.

She also said she was worried about how their mother would cope with his loss.

Navdeep’s father had died two years ago.

Ghazi, a physical education teacher at the school, was remembered fondly by his former pupils, who recalled how he made the effort built up a rapport with them and taught them important life values.

The avid football fan was married to a fellow teacher.

Friends and colleagues took to Ghazi’s Facebook page, which had been filled with messages of hope, to post their condolences on Wednesday.

“A brother, a teammate, a person that was well respected by his peers,” read one post.

Another wrote: “I choose to celebrate your life Ghazi.

I’m so proud and honoured to have met you and I know you’ll be well taken care of.

Thank you – for being an outstanding teacher, a hero, and an inspiration.” Meanwhile, in Singapore, the Ministry of Education, in a statement, expressed its deep appreciation to the Malaysian police, armed forces, other authorities and the many individuals for their support, assistance and contribution to the search and rescue and recovery efforts “of our students and teachers”.

“We will continue to provide support to the families during this difficult time,” the ministry said.