6 Malaysian divers drown while searching for teen who fell into mining pool

KUALA LUMPUR — Six Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department divers died while looking for a teenage boy who fell into a mining pond in Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong on Wednesday (Oct 3).

The authorities said four of the divers, from Klang station, were identified as Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34, Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32, Mazlan Omarbaki, 25, and Yahya Ali, 24.

The other two; Adnan Othman, 33, and Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25, were from Shah Alam station.

They were searching for a 17-year-old male victim who was reported to have slipped and fallen into the mining pool at about 5pm.

It was learnt that the victim was with two friends, and they were about to start fishing.

His friends informed nearby residents to contact the Fire and Rescue Department when the teen fell in.

A Selangor Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said rescuers managed to pull the divers from the water.

"A medical team at the scene administered Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation on them but to no avail.

"All six were then pronounced dead. Their bodies have been sent to Serdang Hospital for post mortem," he said.

The six divers drowned after they were sucked by a deadly whirlpool created by strong current at the mining pool.

Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said his men were spotted struggling to pull themselves out of the dangerous situation but were dragged under by the vortex.

"A whirlpool had formed at the area and a team on the banks said they saw the six divers struggling to get out.

"The team also took immediate action by pulling them out and administered emergency procedures but it was too late."

He said early checks showed that a floodwall near the area had failed to contain gushing floodwater brought about by heavy rain in the afternoon.

"There is a floodwall at the location but it was overflowed by floodwater. We will investigate the matter further to ensure this tragedy can be avoided in future." he said at the Serdang Hospital's Forensic Department.

Mr Mohammad Hamdan added that the department's prayers go out to the families of the firefighters.

Meanwhile, Sepang police chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Aziz Ali said an initial investigation showed the six divers had gotten themselves entangled in a rope as they were being dragged by strong currents at the scene.

"During the incident, the six divers were already in the water for nearly five minutes, searching for the missing teen.

"Suddenly, a strong current came gushing into the area causing them to be dragged further down and got tangled by the rope that connected them.

"Some of their diving equipment also got lost during the commotion." he told reported at the scene early on Thursday morning (Oct 4).

"The first victim managed to be pulled out after 30 minutes but by this time all of them were already unconscious," said Mr Abdul Aziz.

He added that the search for the missing teen has been called off and would continue in the morning.

"We hope to be able to start again by 8am," he said. NEW STRAITS TIMES