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Lucky firefighters, villager escape watery fate

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KANOWIT: Three firefighters and a villager, who were heading to Rh Tembaga Maria, Matau, Machan in a longboat, managed to save themselves after the vessel sank on Sunday (Feb 28).

Kanowit fire station chief Arrahman Chik said the firefighters were assigned to carry out sanitisation works at Rh Tembaga Maria and were taken to the longhouse by one of the residents.

“At about 11.44am, the men left the station for the longhouse using a four-wheel drive (vehicle).

“Upon arriving at Matau, the firefighters boarded a boat belonging to a villager, who had gone to pick them up. At about 12.47pm, their boat suddenly sank.”

Arrahman said two firefighters managed to swim to a cliff, another firefighter used a sanitisation sprayer as a buoy, while the villager managed to cling onto the boat.

All of them were not injured and were able to continue sanitisation works at the longhouse after that.

Meanwhile, Arrahman said this was one of the challenges faced by frontliners in the fight against the Covid-19 virus.

“As the station chief, I am very grateful and proud of the commitment of my men in carrying out their duties,” he said, while expressing his relief that everyone was safe and sound.