Water rafting tragedy: Victims were JKR staff members - Cops

KAMPAR: The three victims who drowned during a water rafting activity in Sungai Jahang this afternoon were staff members of the Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) and Langkawi Public Works Department (JKR), according to police.

Kampar district police chief Supt Mohamad Nazri Daud identified the female victim as Suhaili Mat Saad, 47, a district engineer at JKR SPT from Kampung Teluk Sungai Kecil, Nibong Tebal, Penang.

“The other victims were Mohamad Khairul Hakim Hamidi, 37, a senior assistant engineer at Langkawi JKR, residing at the JKR Quarters in Ayer Hangat, Kuah, Langkawi, and Muhammad Ikram Abdul Bari, 29, a customer service officer at Langkawi JKR, from Taman Permata, Jitra, Kedah,” he said.

Mohamad Nazri said that the incident was believed to have been caused by continuous heavy rain, which led to a sudden rise in the water level of Sungai Jahang.

He said one boat carrying seven people, including a guide, capsized before they were swept away.

He said prior to the incident, four rafting boats from a resort, carrying 27 people, including five guides and one photographer, had departed to Sungai Jahang for a white water rafting activity.

He added that they had been staying at the resort for a team-building programme, with seven participants from Langkawi JKR and 14 from SPT JKR.

Meanwhile, the bodies arrived at Kampar Hospital Forensic Unit at 9.50 pm for the post-mortem examination.

Meanwhile, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi expressed his condolences and extended his sympathies to the victims’ families in a Facebook post.

He said that based on the preliminary information he received, the victims included two participants from Langkawi JKR and one from SPT JKR.

He said he has requested the ministry and JKR teams in the affected states to provide necessary assistance and support to the families of the victims.

“I was informed that all three victims are believed to have drowned after being swept away by a water surge while participating in a white-water rafting activity in Sungai Kampar this evening,” he said.