TUARAN: Fourteen South Korean tourists were stranded on their boat for about 3 hours last night before help arrived.
The group was on their way back to their homestay when the boat got stuck among tree roots.
Tuaran District Fire and Rescue Station chief, Abdul Qawie Abdul Gapar said the incident occurred due to the strong river currents after heavy downpour. His department received an emergency call at 9:50pm and 10 staff were deployed to the scene. The Fire and Rescue personnel transferred all the victims to the river bank by using boats belonging to the villagers.
“They were handed over to the tourism agency responsible for handling the tourists for further action,” he said.
“The rescue operation was also assisted by the Malaysian Civil Defense Force (APM)” and ended at 12.57 midnight, he said.
The group was much relived once helped arrived after being anxiously stranded in an alleged crocodile infested river. According to the tour guide Harris, the river flow brough along quite a number of crocodiles.
While the group was indeed worried of being in a crocodile infested river according to their guide Harris, they were much relived after help arrived.
Due to a sudden water surge, Harris had asked the boatman to find a calmer stretch of the river to avoid being hit by logs and debris. Unfortunately, that spot of temporary refuge has the boat caught among roots.
