Kuantan drowning victim found after 12 days

The body of a man who was swept away by strong currents after he jumped off a bridge at Sungai Belat near Kampung Sri Damai here on Dec 18, was found last night.

Mohd Firdaus Supiardi, 26, was found at 8.10pm about 3km from the location where he was reported missing.

Pahang Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (Operations) Ismail Abdul Ghani said the department was alerted by the public who spotted a body floating in Sungai Belat at about 7.20pm.

“Firemen from the Taman Tas station were deployed to the scene on a boat and managed to retrieve the body near the river bank. The remains were handed to police for further action,” he said in a statement.

On Dec 18, some passers-by spotted Firdaus jumping into the raging Sungai Belat at about 11.25am. He had earlier arrived alone on a motorcycle and parked the machine near the bridge.


Meanwhile, the search and rescue (SAR) operations to locate two missing victims at separate locations in Bentong will continue on a smaller scale.

Rescuers are still looking for Felda Chemomoi settler Ahmad Yahya, 71, who is the last victim of the Kampung Seri Telemong water column incident on Dec 18 and a male adult identified as Bobby Lim Yoke Hoong in his 60s who is reported missing at the Bobby Eco Camp along the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway.

Ahmad was among 16 people swept away by raging murky river waters while on a bridge at Sungai Telemong at about 2am on Dec 19. 10 people were found safe and five bodies have been recovered.

Lim was allegedly swept away by a column of water in the resort on Dec 18 with two others. The remains of the two other victims have been found.

NST