Man feared drowned after jumping into river to chase cow in Beluran

KOTA KINABALU: A search operation has been mounted after a 29-year-old man disappeared while fording a river in Beluran to fetch his cow home.

The victim known as Mohammad Nizam, on Thursday (May 5) swam across the river along Jalan Sapi Nangoh, Kampung Botition there with his 37-year-old cousin to retrieve the cow and bring it back to the cowshed.

The Fire and Rescue Department received the emergency call at 6.19pm alerting that while the victim’s cousin managed to swim to the river bank, the victim went missing when pulled under by the river currents.

“The cousin was sent to the Nangoh health clinic by the public to get further treatment.

“Meanwhile, the Beluran Fire and Rescue team went to the scene to investigate.

“A search operation was mounted on Friday morning (May 6) at 8.30am along a three kilometre stretch where the victim went missing in the river using boats.

“The operation was postponed due to the weather at 6pm and will be continued tomorrow (May 7),” said a Fire and Rescue spokesman.

The operation also included the police, Civil Defence Force and villagers.