Fire and Rescue Dept confirms discovery of bodies of all five missing regatta victims in Sarawak River

KUCHING, Oct 20 — The bodies of all five persons reported missing after their regatta boat capsized during a training session in the Sarawak River, near the Royal Bay Commercial Center on Jalan Buruh Bintawa, were found this morning.

A Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Operations Center spokesperson said the bodies were discovered in stages between 6.16am and 7.09am.

“The remains of all five victims have been found; we are now waiting for confirmation from the police and the Ministry of Health,” he said.

“The remains of two victims were found at 6.16am, one at 6.40am, while the Sarawak Coast Guard found another victim at 7.07am. The last victim was recovered at 7.09am with the help of a drone,” he added.

The five victims have been identified as Mohamad Ikhmal Sama’ail, 34; Majurie Maharuf, 32; Mohd Afiq Isyamudin Asaari, 26; Muhammad Khairul Hisyam Kasturi, 23, and Mohamad Khairul Bidin, 26.

Meanwhile, Kuching District Police Chief ACP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah confirmed at a press conference after the conclusion of the search and rescue (SAR) operation that all the recovered bodies belonged to persons reported missing in the capsized regatta boat incident.

He said the victims were about 2.5 kilometers from the incident site and the identification process was completed by the relatives at the Sarawak General Hospital (HUS) at 9am today.

“The identification process was carried out by the father of two victims, while the other two were recognized by their wives, and one by the victim’s mother. This officially concluded the SAR operation at 10am,” he said.

He added that the HUS forensic department would conduct the post-mortem examinations. Once completed, the remains will be returned to the victims’ families for burial in their respective villages.

He also noted that the bodies were found within a radius of about 500 square meters in the Sarawak River dam area, with one body discovered on the river bank and the remaining four recovered in the middle of the river.

“From the date and time of the incident, which occurred at 3:47 PM on October 18, to 6:16 AM this morning, it took us 45 hours to locate the first body, and only 50 minutes to recover the fifth,” he stated.

He also expressed his gratitude to all Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and local residents for their invaluable assistance during the SAR mission.

The five victims were participants in the regatta and were reportedly engaged in a training session on Friday when their boat, carrying 16 people, capsized at around 3.47pm after being swamped by water from a passing fishing vessel.

Only eleven of the sixteen participants, employees of the Sarawak Security and Enforcement Unit (UKPS), managed to reach safety. – Bernama