Chopper, K9 unit to help search for 5 missing Sarawakian rowers

 

Some of the rowers who managed to swim to safety when their boat capsized yesterday. (Fire and rescue department pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Search and rescue efforts for five missing rowers in Kuching, Sarawak, will resume tomorrow, with a K9 unit and a helicopter to be dispatched to look for them.

Kuching police chief Farhan Lee Abdullah said a team of divers found no significant leads today, and they plan to expand the search area, The Borneo Post reported.

“We will be deploying a K9 unit from the fire and rescue department as early as 6am (tomorrow) to scour the sites, minimising interference from boats transporting fuel which could disrupt the K9’s sensitivity.

Secondly, we will establish a monitoring team at the barrage to ensure the area remains secure and observe any potential movement beyond it,

 he was quoted as saying.

Separately, it was revealed that one of the victims, Khairul Hisham Kasturi, 23, had just got engaged. His uncle, Ridzuan Aban, 64, said this left the family all the more devastated.

The five rowers went missing during a training session for the Sarawak Regatta yesterday after their boat capsized. Eleven others managed to save themselves.

The capsize was caused by the wave from a fishing boat heading in the opposite direction near the Royal Bay Commercial Centre, according to police.

The other four missing participants have been identified as Ikhmal Sama’ail, Majurie Maharuf, Afiq Isyamudin Asaari and Khairul Bidin, aged 22 to 35. - FMT