Looking for crash victims’ bodies, finding crocodiles

Search teams at helicopter crash site tell of their experience while working on the Batang Lupar river.

SRI AMAN: Dangers and risks are always part and parcel of any Search And Rescue (SAR) operation but looking for bodies in a crocodile-infested river is another matter, especially when the location is Sarawak and when the search goes on well into the night.

The SAR team that was deployed to find the wreckage and bodies of those who perished in a helicopter tragedy on Thursday were said to have come across about 30 crocodiles in the Batang Lupar river near here, which was part of the search area.

Sri Aman Fire and Rescue Department chief Mohammad Raffy Saibi said the crocodiles were spotted by a team comprising the Civil Defence, Armed Forces and Fire and Rescue Department on Friday.

“The operation was carried out well into the night based on the necessity and on Friday night a number of boats involved in the SAR came across a number of crocodiles in the Batang Lupar river.

“It certainly was a shocking experience for the team initially but we were already warned by the police about the dangers involved, especially that it involved crocodiles in the river,” he told Bernama.

Admitting that the helicopter tragedy SAR was the biggest assigned task for him, Mohammad Raffy said it was also his biggest challenge in his career since joining the department.

“In the past, most of the cases involved missing persons  never involved a high profile case like this,” said Mohammad Raffy who started his career in the Fire and Rescue Department 10 years ago.

Mohammad Raffy, 41, who had also served as the Sarawak Zone II Fire and Rescue Department head said apart from the dangers posed by crocodiles, there were incidents when the engines of boats are trapped in mud during low tide.

Sri Aman police chief DSP Othman Sulaiman, 53, who joined the police force 33 years ago said using the conventional method of search and rescue in the area was very challenging.

However, the close cooperation from the various agencies involved had eased the process of the SAR operation, he said.

– BERNAMA