KUCHING: The search and rescue (SAR) operation for missing seven-year-old Mohammad Adami Moktar, who was snatched away by a crocodile last Saturday (May 21), was called off after no new leads were found in the seven-day operation.
Petra Jaya fire chief Latif Iring, in a statement, said the decision was made around 4 pm following discussions with the police.
“The operation at Kampung Nyabut, Telaga Air, was terminated on the instructions of Batu Kawa police chief.
“It will be handed over to the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) and Samarahan Crocodile Hunters (SCH),” he said.
After seven days of searching for Adami, rescuers did not find any clues on the boy or find the crocodile that snatched him last Saturday.
On the day of the incident, Adami was crouching on the high ground of the riverbank in Kampung Nyabut before a crocodile jumped out of the river and snatched him away around 8.30 am.
Prior to the incident, the victim’s 48-year-old grandmother, who was near the victim, was alerted by two sisters who were shouting about a crocodile.
The sisters, aged 11 and 12, who were playing by the jetty, had noticed the reptile.
On Tuesday (May 23), SFC and SCH personnel installed 17 crocodile traps along the river in hopes to capture the reptile that took Adami.
The next two days (May 25), a giant crocodile measuring 4.3-metre-long, was caught in one of the traps and the reptile was later taken to the riverbank at around 7 pm.
Initially, the locals hoped that the captured crocodile was the one that attacked Adami.
However, it was revealed that the captured reptile was not the one that attacked the missing victim.
This followed an autopsy made by SFC personnel under a bridge at Kampung Trombol at 9.30 am on Thursday (May 26).
No signs of human remains were found in the reptile’s stomach and the carcass was disposed of by the corporation.
