Man feared drowned after falling into river

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Rescuers bringing the body of the victim to the river bank.

TAWAU: A 33-year-old man was feared to have drowned at Batu Bersusun, Balung River, after he reportedly slipped and fell into the river about 1pm yesterday.

Fire and Rescue Department station chief Sharudy Delamin said the department received a distress call about 1.4 pm reporting of a victim who was feared to have drowned in the river.

He said a search and rescue operation started at 2.51pm, and the victim was found by the department’s divers around 5.05pm trapped under some pieces of woods on the river bed of the river which was about five metres deep.

It took firemen about one hour aided by volunteers and villagers to retrieve the victim from the river as they were impeded by swift river currents.

Meanwhile, five villages and nine residential areas were affected by flash floods following heavy rainfall here on Saturday.

Sharudy said the department began monitoring the situation by patrolling the areas at 10.47pm after North Road, Kuhara Road, Tanjung Batu Laut and Chong Thien Vun Road were flooded following about one hour of heavy downpour. However, the roads were still accessible.

The villages affected were Kg Pasir Putih Block A and C, Kg Pukat Kuari Tanjung Batu Laut, Kg Saddani, Kg Batu 2 Jalan Hj. Sundu and Kg Rawa-Rawa, while the affected residential areas were Taman Maju Jaya, Berkerly, Leeka, Green, Villa, Pasadena, Mulia, Da Hua 5 and Taman Anggerik.

Sharudy said the water which was about 0.5 to one metre deep had begun to subside, but at Mile 2 the water was still rising but the situation was under control, and added that there were no casualties reported and no one had been shifted from the affected areas.