Yoursay: Search-and-rescue SOP needs urgent review

YOURSAY | ‘Please do not let the deaths of the six Malaysian heroes be in vain.’

PM hopes for more effective training after six rescuers perish

Quigonbond: First of all, condolences to rescue divers' family. For six to have died to rescue one just does not make sense, even when we talk about the notions of heroic sacrifice.

The rescuers were not undertaking a dive rescue, but rather a surface water rescue, and that in their attempt to traverse the terrain to where the boy might be located, one of them lost his footing.

Because they were all tied together, they all fell into the water and of course having the misfortune of an ongoing whirlpool, they perished.

This certainly raises a lot of questions. Were there better routes to have been taken for the surface operation? Was it appropriate for all of them to be tied together?

Did they have full appreciation of the risks involved in traversing a terrain this close to a body of water that additional gear may have been warranted, or for that matter different tethers for each of them? Did they have enough gear? Were there spotlights?

It points to potential issues in equipment, training and leadership, all of which requires inquiry and reexamination. The last thing we want is to attribute this to act of God – then nothing changes.

Shovelnose: Condolences to their families. Please do not let their deaths be in vain. Procedures and guidelines need to be reviewed after a postmortem is conducted into what exactly went wrong that resulted in six experienced service personnel getting into trouble at one go.

Taking: Should we review our SOPs in view of this tragedy? My condolence to the families. May no other family have to go through this again.

Mighty Bear: This was a dive into a mining pond. Why would this be more difficult or dangerous than the Thai cave rescue? How did six divers die in one go?

Clearly safety was not sufficient to safeguard our divers. The Occupational Safety and Health Department should investigate and determine what caused this tragedy. The nation is in shock and we need answer in order ensure this doesn't happen again.

Six firemen killed in mining pool tragedy complied with SOP

Worried Sick: Without a doubt the six brave men are heroes. I have had occasions calling my local Fire and Rescue Department officers to remove bee hives from the back of my house. I can tell you these men are not only brave in their undertakings but also smart, and their interactions with citizens is filled with empathy and friendliness.

I am so sad that they lost six of their brave men in their line of duty. May their souls be blessed by the Almighty. I am, however, compelled to ask what is the real SOP in this type of incidents? Let us not let this tragedy rest and 'kill' our heroes in future incidents like this.

So, can Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid tell us what the SOP is and why did six brave men had to die so young?

Mighty Bear: Only in Malaysia are SOPs given such legal weightage. I suppose the six who died also died with accordance to the SOP. I'm curious, where in the SOP did it mention that it was safe to use a human chain without ropes when traversing a waterfall? What was the contingency plan should someone fall into the water or was dragged under by undercurrents?

SOPs seem to be a tool for management to hide behind to shield their sheer incompetence in providing sufficient care for safety.

Jasmine: Do all well-trained divers use the human-chain approach under any circumstances? The very fact that the director-general himself speculated that one of the divers could have slipped on the rocks and therefore pulled the rest into the depths clearly reveals that being bound to each other is not an appropriate and safe method to adopt under these circumstances.

Whoever was in charge of the operation was not thinking properly. Not thinking outside the box. No adaptation. Now we have six young lives lost forever.

Eye In The Sky: It's a tragedy, but could it have been avoided. If complying to SOP still gets these rescuers killed, then obviously there are shortcomings in the SOP. May these brave souls rest in peace and may their deaths bring about immediate changes lest they gave their lives in vain.

Newday: A terrible tragedy, especially in light of the training these men had gone through to get to this stage of their careers. Let us all hope that a review of the SOP happens soon, harsh lessons are learnt, the SOP is changed and that this never happens again. My thoughts are with the families of the missing teenager and the rescue personnel.

Anonymous_8a8199e7: It is so sad to read the report. May the six rest in peace. I'm a diver and know how dangerous the task was. But, these were professional divers with proper training. The search isn't that complicated compared to the rescue efforts in the Thai cave incident.

I just can't understand how the mishap happened and took the lives of the six brave men. The authorities must investigate thoroughly and hold those responsible to account.

Anon-2: This is a very serious tragedy that requires an inquiry into our ability to cope with emergencies and tragedies. It cannot be left unexplained and closed as an 'unfortunate accident.'

The deaths of the rescue divers are not accidental but due to a failure in the rescue process. Six rescuers perishing is unacceptable and should never happen again.

Ultimately: The facts of the tragedy are curious, especially since not one, but six perished in an apparently simple scenario (to the reader, at least). No one wants to blame anyone, but the government must find out exactly what had happened step by step, and what were the events that had led to the accident.

This is not to lay blame, but to ensure any rescue in future takes note of these dangers or mistakes, if any.

Just a Malaysian: Our prayers are with the six Malaysian heroes. May they rest in peace. SOP aside, in any rescue mission some experience and skills are needed to handle each and every situation. SOPs are static, but human brains are flexible and intelligent. Hope we all have learned a lesson and our six heroes do not die in vain.

Rubystar_4037: This is a tragic accident and at such trying times we should not be looking to blame the Fire and Rescue Department. We should address the welfare of the deceased's families first and all help must be rendered to them.

Later on, the department may have to review its own SOP to ensure the safety of its rescue personnel. It was a very brave act that despite the late hours, the six personnel, without hesitation, went in hoping to rescue the doomed victim. My utmost condolences to the families of the divers as well as the victim.

Vijay47: Six young men, between the ages of 24 and 34 years, lost. What a tragedy, what a loss. We can speculate and blame all we want, we can talk about SOPs and human chains, but all these do not matter, not when we lose six of our best officers.

To the families, they have that small consolation that their sons, husbands, or brothers gave their lives in carrying out their duties. To us, the six are unquestionably heroes. - Mkini