MIRI – The General Operations Force (GOF) sergeant and auxiliary police (AP) personnel who drowned after being swept away by a sudden strong gush of water in Ulu Baram on Thursday were conducting a routine patrol in the Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP) area.
Sarawak Commissioner of Police Datuk Aidi Ismail said platoon sergeant from Company A of the GOF's 12th Battallion in Miri, Simon Laja, 47, was leading three APs from the SSGP Layun Camp and three Samling Timber Sdn Bhd (SST) employees in a patrol along Sg Melana, Long Kerangan in Baram when the incident occurred about 6pm.
“All of them were walking in a shallow river when they were suddenly swept away by swift currents.
“Five of them managed to save themselves except for Sergeant Simon and an AP known only as Sergeant Kemiang,” he said in a statement today.
A search-and-rescue operation involving seven GOF personnel and 27 Samling employees was immediately activated.
Simon and Kemiang's bodies were recovered yesterday at 2pm and 2.30pm, respectively.
“The remains were taken to Long Lama Health Clinic before being sent to Miri Hospital,” he said.
SST was awarded a contract by Petronas to carry out civil maintenance works at SSGP on January 28 last year.
SSGP is a 512km-long and 91.4cm in diameter natural gas pipeline linking Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal in Kimanis to Petronas’s LNG complex in Bintulu, Sarawak, and is part of the Sabah-Sarawak Integrated Oil and Gas Project. – Bernama, December 5, 2020
