Sabah floods claim first victim

 

A house in Tenom, near Beaufort, hit hard by floods. (Bernama pic)

BEAUFORT: The floods in Sabah claimed its first victim today after a man was found drowned in Kampung Mantao near here.

The incident happened about 10am when Fairol Jisirun, 21, slipped while pushing out a boat.

Prior to the incident, the victim went there to help his brother, who owns a bird’s nest farm, to clean up the place which had been affected by the floods.

Beaufort district police chief Yusoff Zaki Mat Yaacob confirmed the incident, saying that the victim’s brother could not save him as he did not know how to swim.

“The Fire and Rescue Department team was then alerted and a search-and-rescue operation was carried out immediately,” he said.

Yusoff said the victim’s body was found not far from the scene at about 1pm today.

“The body was sent to Beaufort Hospital for further action and the case has been classified as sudden death,” he said.

Beaufort has been hit by floods, with 610 people placed in four temporary relief centres as of 4pm today. - FMT