SEMPORNA: A 69 Commando Unit officer in his 40s died during a diving training exercise at Pulau Mataking here on Thursday morning.
The incident occurred at about 10.25am during an exercise conducted near a joint Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) post.
The officer, identified as Insp Khairul Azhar Kamaruddin from Team Charlie VAT 69, was reported to have lost consciousness during the training.
He had arrived at the jetty at about 8am, completed equipment preparations and proceeded to the training site prior to the incident.
Emergency assistance, including first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, was administered by resort staff and VAT 69 members before he was sent to Semporna Hospital, while Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail later expressed condolences to the family, describing the loss as significant to the PDRM and the Home Ministry.