Driver of lorry that plunged into sea found drowned

 

Fire and rescue department personnel bringing ashore the body of the lorry driver which was found near Bagan Lalang. (APMM Facebook pic)

PORT DICKSON: The body of a coal lorry driver, whose vehicle plunged into the sea at the Jimah Power Plant coal unloading jetty here early yesterday morning, was found floating off the coast of Bagan Lalang at about 4pm today.

State fire and rescue department (JBPM)’s operations and station management branch head, Mohd Hafiz Ahmad Termizi, said the body of Sharul Nizwan Said, 33, was found about 2.5km from the scene by the search and rescue (SAR) team.

In the 1.30 am incident yesterday, Sharul Nizwan was reversing a coal-laden lorry when it plunged into the sea. He and four other friends were cleaning up the coal yard at the jetty.

A SAR operation was mounted, involving more than 60 personnel from various agencies, including the police, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the Malaysia Civil Defence Force, as well as two JBPM tracking dogs.

Mohd Hafiz said that the second day of the SAR operation continued at 8am today, with several strategies including underwater and surface searches, with all efforts conducted according to standard operating procedures.

“In terms of the physical injuries, we are still waiting for confirmation of the report from the hospital,” he told reporters at the scene here today.

However, he said that a three-tonne lorry driven by the victim, which was found on the seabed at about 11.23 am yesterday, was still in the process of being lifted, due to its heavy load and strong currents.

The body was taken to the Forensic Department, Port Dickson Hospital for a post-mortem, and the search operation ended at about 5.15 this afternoon. - FMT