MERSING – Drones are being used in the search-and-rescue operation to locate a tertiary institution student who went hiking in Pulau Mawar, here, and who has been missing since Wednesday.
Mersing district police chief Supt Abdul Razak Abdullah Sani said a drone belonging to the Mersing district office was used on the first two days of the search-and-rescue operation to locate Muhamad Akmal Hakimi Ishak, 20, whereas a thermal imaging drone belonging to the Malaysian Civil Defence Force was used yesterday.
He said that a drone cannot be used today, the fourth day of the operation, due to bad weather conditions.
“Personnel involved have repeatedly entered Pulau Mawar, comprising an area of about 3 sq km, since the first day (of the search-and-rescue operation), in which the initial stage of the operation involved searching in forest and coastal areas.
“In addition, two Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department boats, as well as a marine police boat, were also deployed, apart from increasing the number of search-and-rescue personnel from 45 to 58 people, covering land, rivers and waterways,” he said when contacted today.
Razak said there have been no leads thus far, and the operation is subject to the weather conditions, as the district has been experiencing rain since yesterday afternoon.
Akmal’s father lodged a missing persons report at the Kluang police station in the early morning of February 3, after the youth failed to return home on February 1.
Police later received a report that the student’s motorcycle had been found, in good condition, in an area near Pulau Mawar at 11.30am on Friday. The search-and-rescue operation was launched at 5pm on the same day. – Bernama, February 6, 2023
