KOTA KINABALU: Two boys drowned at sea after the wooden jetty they were on collapsed in Sabah’s east coast Semporna district.
The boys, aged 14 and 19, were with six other friends when the incident occurred at about 4pm on Monday.
Semporna district police chief Supt Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said they were informed of the incident which took place at the Gading-Gading GOF post.
He said police, with the help of villagers, managed to rescue six of them but failed to locate the two victims, adding a search and rescue operation was immediately initiated.
“We found the boys at around 4.30pm but they were unconscious,” he said in a statement yesterday.
“Both victims were given emergency respiratory assistance but unfortunately they did not respond and were pronounced dead by a doctor on duty at the scene at 5.30pm.”
Supt Mohd Farhan said police were still investigating how the village jetty could have collapsed.
“All village committees are advised to make regular inspections of their jetties to ensure people’s safety,” he said.
He urged those with information on the collapsed bridge to contact the investigating officer Sjn-Mejar Nikan Najin at 016-563 2379 or the district police station at 089-782 020.