By JAMES LEONG
SANDAKAN: A four-year-old boy drowned, while his six-year-old sister and their 22-year-old cousin remain missing after they were swept out to sea at Jalan Coastal in town early Sunday.
The children’s 29-year-old mother was rescued and is currently receiving treatment at the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan.
The woman together with her two children leapt into the sea from the “tembok” (wall), a popular seaside spot in town frequented by locals, about 1.00 am in an apparent suicide.
Others in the vicinity including the woman’s nephew, jumped in to try rescuing the three of them.
Unfortunately, only the woman was pulled to safety by members of the public, while the nephew and the two children were missing.
A search and rescue (SAR) operation involving the district police, firemen, Civil Defence Force, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and medical personnel, was activated after the alarm was raised at 1.13 am
The boy’s body was discovered at 7.08am, approximately 200 metres from where he was last seen. His body was sent by police to the Duchess of Kent Hospital for post-mortem.
The SAR for the missing girl and her cousin is ongoing.
“We are investigating to establish the actual cause of the incident,” OCPD ACP Ahsmon Bajah said.
In Beluran, the driver of a double cabin four-wheel drive (4WD) was killed and three passengers injured when their vehicle crashed near Kampung Buis Kiabau, Telupid on Saturday.
The Mitsubishi Triton skidded on the road before ending on its side by the roadside. The authorities were alerted of the accident by the public at 9.02 pm.
The 46-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics while three others on board the pickup, aged 14 to 45, suffered injuries and were rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Beluran firemen extricated the driver’s remains from his seat and handed it to the police for further action.
Meanwhile, a family holiday trip turned tragic when two persons were killed and five others sustained minor injuries after their car skidded and landed in a roadside ditch in front of the Telupid Health Clinic on Sunday.
Six firemen were despatched to the scene located 100 KM from the Beluran Fire and Rescue station on receiving a distress call through MERS 999 at 6.28 am.
“Early investigations found that the victims were travelling in the car when the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to swerve and crash,” Beluran Fire and Rescue Station chief Edoen Macheal said.
According to Edoen, six of the victims were assisted out of the wreckage and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment while firemen extricated a man who was trapped inside.
Two of the victims – a woman and a six-month old baby boy, were pronounced dead at the hospital, he added.
Operations on site ended at 8.30am, Edoen said.
