A volunteer fireman is missing and feared drowned after falling into a lake during a boat training exercise in Perak, with a search operation now underway.
IPOH: A 25-year-old volunteer fireman is missing and feared drowned after falling into a lake during a training exercise at Jalan Lahat Mines near Pasir Puteh.
Perak Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Sayani Saidon said the victim, Ka-Jun Cheng Siew, was a member of the Menglembu Voluntary Fire Brigade (PBS).
The department was alerted to the incident at 7.27 pm yesterday and dispatched personnel from the Pasir Puteh and Ipoh stations, along with volunteers from Menglembu, Pekan Baru and Pasir Pinji brigades.
Sayani explained that the victim and his team had been conducting boat training and testing on the lake since 4 pm, involving 16 PBS members using three boats.
“The victim was reported to be wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) at the start of the training,” she said in a statement today.
However, around 7.10 pm as the session concluded, he re-boarded a boat without wearing the life-saving device.
Sayani said the victim and the boat driver are believed to have fallen into the water when the driver attempted a U-turn in the middle of the lake.
“The driver was later rescued by other PBS members, while the victim is believed to have sunk into the lake,” she added.
The location where the victim fell is estimated to be about 150 metres from the lake’s edge, with a search operation currently in progress.
