Villagers with boats joining the search and rescue operation. – Photo courtesy of Bomba
SIBU (June 7): A 20-year-old man was feared drowned while releasing a fish trap at Sungai Stubah Bintangor this morning.
According to the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), the man, identified as Jackson Janang, is a person with disabilities suffering from seizures.
“The victim’s sister informed that he had gone down to the river to release the fish trap set earlier at about 70 meters from the pier of Rumah Balah before he went missing,” Bomba said in a statement.
Nearby residents found an empty boat drifting in the river, believed to be Jackson’s, and they immediately notified the family members.
“The victim was only wearing shorts at the time of the incident,” the statement added.
Bomba said a distress call was received at about 12.08pm and a search-and-rescue (SAR) operation started at 1.30pm, conducted by three teams using grappling iron and water surface searching method.
A total of 28 villagers with eight boats were also involved in the SAR.
However, the operation was temporarily suspended at 4.50pm due to heavy rain.