KUANTAN – The floods in Pahang claimed its first victim when a staff of the Jerantut District Forestry Department Office drowned, while his son has gone missing after wading through floodwaters in Kg Gintong, about 100km from here last night.
Jerantut police chief Mazlan Hassan said the victim, Zulkarnain Hitam, 58, was found drowned at 10.30pm, believed to have been washed away by a strong currents while walking home with his three sons after moving their family car to higher ground.
One of his sons, Ukai Iskandar, 23, who is a student of Universiti Malaysia Pahang in Gambang here, was also washed away and has yet to be found.
“All of them were believed to have walked home from Kg Gintong to Taman Perdana, about 2km from where they left their car,” he said.
Mazlan said the other two sons, aged 13 and 15, were saved by the villagers.
The search for Ukai Iskandar, which began at 11pm yesterday, had to be temporarily stopped at 3am today due to bad weather.
Mazlan advised the public to be vigilant and always follow the authorities's instructions throughout the flood season to avoid untoward incidents. – Bernama, January 4, 2021