BEAUFORT: A man was feared drowned when his boat was found unattended in the river at Kampung Bangkalalak, here, Wednesday.
Boy Abdullah, 20, is said to have crossed the river using the boat to deliver goods but at 4pm, the boat was found unattended.
Beaufort Fire and Rescue Station Chief Muhammad Hasbullah Nenggok confirmed the incident happened at 4 pm Wednesday.
“A search and rescue (SAR) operation was carried out along the river banks where the man was reported last seen but nothing was found. The SAR operation continued this morning,” he said Thursday.
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Meanwhile, Beaufort District Police Chief DSP Ismail Abdullah said a police report on the incident was received Wednesday from Erinjo Ismail, who is Boy’s neighbour.
Erinjo claimed he and Boy were working as construction labourers, building a house on the other side of the river and at that time, they went to the river to bring building materials such as stone, cement, sand and tools to the other side.
Ismail said there was no road to the other side of the river and at the time of the incident Boy was said to have lifted all the goods onto the boat while Erinjo went to the shop to buy food.
He said Erinjo claimed that when he returned to the river bank, he found the boat was not on the river bank and he saw Boy’s hands flailing in the middle of the river before disappearing.
“The strong current of Sungai Padas is believed to have caused the victim to drown and washed away,” he said.
Erinjo ran to ask for help from the villagers and efforts were made to find Boy but failed, said Ismail.
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