MALACCA: Lance Corporal Edrin Daintin, the commando who is feared to have drowned after going missing during a dive training in the waters of Pulau Undan on Tuesday was confirmed to have been following set standard operating procedures (SOP) and was unlikely to have been negligent.
Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said the SOP for the training prioritised safety with complete equipment but further evaluation would continue due to various possible factors, including swift currents or choppy conditions that caused the incident.
He told reporters during a visit to the search and rescue (SAR) operation that the dive was at a depth of 60 feet and continued to 120 feet, and that Eldrin was not in the first group, but the second that made the dive that day under the same SOP.
Adly added that all other dive activities would continue as long as safety factors and personnel equipment were prioritised and they had no plans of suspending the training.
The SAR operation, he added, would also continue for several more days, with the search area expanded to include the southern area in Batu Pahat and to the north till Port Dickson.
“The SAR team is also using sonar detection equipment beginning today to detect the location of the victim, as well as armed forces drones to monitor small islands that are hard to access via boats,” he said. - Bernama