Man drowns after jumping off Petagas bridge in Sabah

 

KOTA KINABALU: A man, who is believed to have parked his motorcycle beside the road before jumping into the Petagas bridge, was found dead three hours later by a search and rescue team.

The body of Ismail Zainal, 31, was found fully clothed at about 3.50pm Saturday after he was reported missing to the Fire and Rescue Services Department at about 1pm.

Firemen found the victim's body not far from the scene of the bridge at Sungai Petagas.

Witnesses said the victim was riding a motorcycle from Putatan towards Kepayan and when he suddenly pulled over along the bridge before jumping into the river.

A Grab driver who observed it, also stopped and jumped in to try and save him but failed as he disappeared under the surface of the river. Other members of the public in the area also jumped into the river in a bid to save him.

Penampang district police chief Deputy Supt Mohd Haris Ibrahim said that police received an alert about the incident at about 12.57pm.

He said a search rescue team involving firemen, civil defence, marine police as well as a drone from the Sabah based Air Force Drone Unit was deployed in the search.

"The victim was found not very far from where the victim was last seen by the public in the river," he said when met at the scene.

DSP Haris said the victim's body was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here for post mortem and further investigation.

The case is classified as sudden death, he said.

Asked about the motive of the victim, Mohd Haris said it was too early to ascertain as they were still investigating.

"It (the motive) is still under investigation. We will get more information about the real motive on why he jumped," he said.

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