SEMPORNA: The search for the 36-year-old plantation worker who went missing after being attacked by a crocodile in the Pegagau River on Sunday entered the third day on Tuesday and there was still no sign of the victim.
The search operation involved those from the Fire and Rescue Department, police, Wildlife Department and members of the public. According to Semporna Fire and Rescue Station Chief Abdul Kadir Halalan, the search includes combing the Pegagau River over 2km from where the victim was last seen.
“There has yet to be any sign of the victim,” he said, Tuesday. Marvin Susa Dequilla, a Filipino passport holder, was fishing near the river bank on Sunday at 3.15pm when the crocodile caught hold of him and dragged him into the water.
In an earlier statement, Semporna Police Chief Supt Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said the victim, who worked at the Pegagau plantation, was reported to have gone to the site located near a mangrove with seven friends.
The victim was said to have taken a stick to retrieve his fishing line, which became entangled in the water, when a crocodile suddenly fastened its jaws onto the man’s leg and dragged him into the water.
A police report was lodged by the Pegagau plantation’s assistant manager the same day. Crocodile attack is not uncommon especially in Sabah’s east coast. Last year in August, a man also went missing after he was believed to have ben attacked by a crocodile while fishing in the Pegagau River.
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