Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The divers were from Malaysia's Fire and Rescue department

Six rescue divers have drowned while trying to save a teenager from a disused mining pool in Malaysia.

They were searching for a 17-year-old boy who is thought to have fallen into the body of water while fishing with his friends on Wednesday.

Authorities said the divers became caught in a "whirlpool" and sudden strong currents caused some of their equipment to come off.

The search for the missing boy resumed on Thursday.

'A very sad day'

The boy and his friends were about to start fishing at the mining pool in Sepang district in Selangor state when he fell in, reports said.

The divers followed all safety procedures as they went into the pool on a search and rescue mission, according to Sepang district police chief Abdul Aziz Ali.

They were all wearing complete diving equipment and were tied to a single rope, he said.

Mr Aziz told state news agency Bernama that a strong current "caused all victims to spin in the water", adding that this caused their equipment to come off.

"A whirlpool had formed at the area and a team on the banks said they saw the six divers struggling to get out," Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid told the New Straits Times.

The men were in the water for about 30 minutes while their colleagues tried to rescue them. All six were unconscious when they were pulled out of the water and could not be resuscitated.

"This is the first time as many as six personnel died," Mr Wahid told Bernama. "This is a very sad day for us."

Mr Wahid said an initial investigation suggested that a floodwall near the area failed to contain gushing water brought about by heavy rain earlier that day, causing the strong current.

'The ultimate sacrifice'

Some 500 people turned out at a funeral prayer ceremony on Thursday to pay their last respects to the six victims.

Their bodies were earlier today sent back to their respective hometowns.

Image copyright Bomba

Across social media, tributes poured in for the six divers.

Tunku Ismail, the Crown Prince of the state of Johor, added that he knew "how it felt to lose men while on duty".

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad also expressed his condolences to the victims' families, urging them to "remain strong in this challenging period".

The Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia also paid tribute to their divers in a Facebook post.</s>SERDANG (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Six Fire and Rescue Department personnel drowned while trying to rescue a teenager from a disused mining pool in Taman Putra Perdana.

A department spokesman said all six - who were part of the rescue diving unit- were dragged away by strong currents in the 9pm incident on Wednesday (Oct 3).

They were searching for a 17-year-old boy who is believed to have fallen into the mining pool at around 5.50pm.

It was learnt the boy and two others were fishing at the mining pool when he fell in.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Azmi Osman said they managed to retrieve the six personnel and administered CPR in an attempt to resuscitate them.

"The personnel however did not respond and were pronounced dead," he added.

"Two of them are from the Shah Alam fire station while the other four are from the Port Klang fire station.

"The bodies have been sent to the Serdang Hospital for post-mortem examination."</s>Six rescue divers died trying to save a drowning teenager from a misused mining pool in Malaysia.

The team entered the water after a 17-year-old boy fell in while fishing in Taman Putra Perdana in the west coast township of Sepang, Channel NewsAsia reports.

The teenager's body has reportedly not yet been found.

Sepang district police chief Abdul Aziz Ali said a search and rescue operation would resume on Thursday morning.

The fire and rescue divers, all men, were caught in a strong current during the fatal operation.

Mr Abdul Aziz said it was drizzling with rain when the operation began at 9.15pm on Wednesday.

Two friends of the boy had frantically sought help from people nearby as the teenager struggled in the water, AsiaOne reports.

Mr Abdul Aziz said the divers had followed standard operating procedure by having full equipment and were tied to a single rope.

He said: "Suddenly a strong current occurred in the area, causing all victims to spin in the water while all their equipment came off."

The divers reportedly struggled in the water for around 30 minutes as an effort to save them failed.

Selangor fire chief Azmi Osman said cardiopulmonary resuscitation was administered on the divers.

The rescue team members have been named in Asian media as Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34, Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32, Mazlan Omarbaki, 25, and Yahya Ali, 24, from the water rescue unit of the Port Klang Fire and Rescue station.

The other two victims, Adnan Othman, 33, and Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25, were members of the water rescue unit from the Shah Alam fire station.

Fire and rescue director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said: "This is the first time (six divers died).

"There was one previous case when we lost two members of the department.

"We carried out CPR but could not save them and this is a very sad day for us. One which involved so many of our employees."</s>KUALA LUMPUR: Six Fire and Rescue Department divers in Malaysia died during a rescue mission for a teen who reportedly drowned after falling into a mining pond near Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (Oct 3). 



The divers were caught in a strong "whirlpool" during the operation, said Sepang district police chief ACP Abdul Aziz Ali.

He said it was drizzling when the unit went into the pond at 9.15pm to rescue the 17-year-old boy.

The divers had followed standard operating procedures in donning complete diving equipment and were tied to a single rope, said Abdul Aziz. 



"Suddenly a strong current occurred in the area causing all victims to spin in the water while all their equipment came off," he said.

The victims struggled in the water for about 30 minutes while other personnel tried to rescue them. However, all of them were found unconscious when they were pulled out of the water.



Selangor Fire and Rescue Department chief Azmi Osman said cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered by a medical team on the victims, but failed. 



“All six were pronounced dead,” he said.



The divers have been identified as Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34; Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32; Mazlan Omarbaki, 25, and Yahya Ali, 24, from the Water Rescue Team (PPDA) of the Port Klang Fire and Rescue station.

The other two victims, identified as Adnan Othman, 33, and Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25, were members of PPDA team from the Shah Alam Fire and Rescue station.



Meanwhile, the 17-year-old teen has yet to be found.

The teen was fishing by the banks of the pond with two friends, but slipped and fell into the pond.

Abdul Aziz said the search and rescue operation to locate the teenager will resume at 7.30am on Thursday.</s>Six rescue divers have drowned while trying to save a teenager from a disused mining pool in Malaysia.

They were searching for a 17-year-old boy who is thought to have fallen into the body of water while fishing with his friends on Wednesday.

Authorities said the divers became caught in a "whirlpool" and sudden strong currents caused some of their equipment to come off.

The search for the missing boy resumed on Thursday.

The boy and his friends were about to start fishing at the mining pool in Sepang district in Selangor state when he fell in, reports said.

The divers followed all safety procedures as they went into the pool on a search and rescue mission, according to Sepang district police chief Abdul Aziz Ali

They were all wearing complete diving equipment and were tied to a single rope, he said.

Mr Aziz told state news agency Bernama that a strong current "caused all victims to spin in the water", adding that this caused their equipment to come off.

"A whirlpool had formed at the area and a team on the banks said they saw the six divers struggling to get out," Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid told news outlet the New Straits Times.

The men were in the water for about 30 minutes while their colleagues tried to rescue them. All six were unconscious when they were pulled out of the water and could not be resuscitated.

"This is the first time as many as six personnel died," Mr Wahid told Bernama. "This is a very sad day for us."

Mr Wahid said an initial investigation suggested that a floodwall near the area failed to contain gushing water brought about by heavy rain earlier that day, causing the strong current.</s>A group of rescue divers died in Malaysia after being caught up in a deadly whirlpool as they tried to save a teenager who had fallen in a mining pool.

The men drowned on Wednesday after a strong current gushed into the search area in the central Malaysian town of Puchong. According to Sepang Assistant Commissioner Abdul Aziz Ali, initial investigations found the group of divers had been in the water searching for the 17-year-old teenager for nearly five minutes when the tragedy started to unfold.

Heavy rain in the area earlier raised water levels in the pool and resulted in strong undercurrents. The rescuers formed a human chain and tied themselves together with rope to buoys.

“Suddenly, a strong current came gushing into the area causing them to be dragged further down and got tangled by the rope that connected them,” Ali said, the New Strait Times reported.

The victims were identified as: Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34, Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32, Mazlan Omarbaki, 25, Yahya Ali, 24, Adnan Othman, 33, and Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25.

The rescuers were reportedly seen struggling by a team on the banks but they were dragged down by the vortex too fast for them to do anything.

Almost half an hour passed before the first body was recovered. By this point all six divers were unresponsive, Ali said.

The team, according to Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid, “immediately” took action as they pulled the bodies out.

Emergency procedures were attempted but it was “too late”, Wahid added.

The search for the boy was said to resume on Thursday morning. The teenager is believed to have fallen in the pond while fishing on its banks with two friends.

If you like this story, share it with a friend!</s>PETALING JAYA
• The body of a Malaysian teenager who fell into a pool at an abandoned tin mine in Puchong was found yesterday, emergency officials said.

Six Malaysian rescue divers drowned in a freak accident the night before while searching for the teenager.

Mohd Ilham Fahmy Mohd Azzam, 17, had gone missing on Wednesday while fishing in the pool, which is popular with anglers in Puchong, a town located west of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

"The victim was found at around 5.45pm, 800m away from where he was seen falling," said Selangor Fire and Rescue Department deputy operations director Mohd Rizal Buang. He added that the body has been taken to Serdang Hospital.

Mr Mohammad Hamdan Wahid, fire and rescue department director-general, said the divers who died during the search encountered strong undercurrents that spun them around in the murky water.

Local police chief Abdul Aziz Ali said the spinning caused them to lose their diving gear. The six were pulled out of the water after 30 minutes but by then they were already unconscious, he added.

The fire chief described the death of six officers in one day as the "worst tragedy" to hit his department.

A simple yet solemn solat jenazah (prayer for the departed) was held yesterday for the six divers, and the ceremony was attended by some 500 family members and personnel from the department.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has expressed his condolences to the families of the rescue divers who drowned, said he was saddened to hear the news.

"I hope the families remain strong in this challenging period," he said to reporters after opening the Sixth Asean Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management yesterday. Tun Dr Mahathir said that the government would look at forms of assistance to be extended to the families of the victims.

Meanwhile, the Selangor government has ordered the Sepang Municipal Council to close down the mining pool.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the closure was necessary following several drowning cases that were reported in the area.

"I received a report that this (drowning at the mining pool) was not the first, and I have instructed the Sepang Municipal Council to increase security surveillance, (as well as) close off the area," he told reporters yesterday.</s>KUALA LUMPUR: Six Fire and Rescue Department divers died while on a rescue mission for a teen who was feared drowned after falling into a mining pond in Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong, near Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (Oct 3).

Bernama news agency quoted Selangor Fire and Rescue Department chief Azmi Osman as saying that all six drowned while conducting diving operations in the search for the 17-year-old male victim.

He said all the divers were brought to banks of the pond before Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) was administered by a medical team but failed.

“All six were pronounced dead ,” he said.

He said two of the divers were from the Shah Alam Fire and Rescue Department and the four others from the Port Klang Fire and Rescue Department.

Azmi, however, said the teen had yet to be found.

The teen was fishing by the banks of the pond with two friends but slipped and fell into the pond.

The Cyberjaya Fire and Rescue Station were alerted on the incident at 5.19pm and a team of eight officers and personnel arrived at the scene 30 minutes later.</s>Six Malaysian rescue divers drowned in an accident while searching for a boy who had gone missing in a pool at an abandoned tin mine, emergency officials said today.

The 17-year-old boy had gone missing on Wednesday while fishing in the pool popular with anglers in the township of Puchong west of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Mohammad Hamdan Wahid, fire and rescue department director-general, said the divers encountered strong undercurrents that spun them around in the murky water.

Local police chief Abdul Aziz Ali said the spinning caused them to lose their diving gear.

They were pulled out of the water after 30 minutes but by then they were already unconscious, he added.

Fire chief Mohammad described the death of six officers in one day as the "worst tragedy" to hit his department.

The search for the missing youth was continuing, he said.</s>SHAH ALAM, Oct 4 — The deaths of six rescuers while on a mission in a mining pool at Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong last night was the worst case of serviceman fatality in history, according to Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid.

He added that there have also never been so many personnel deaths in a single rescue operation.

Faced with a barrage of questions on how the servicemen could have perished on a mission, Mohammad Hamdan sought to make one thing clear: the six had followed the standard operating procedure (SOP) and were not derelict in their duties.

He related that their on-site supervisor confirmed that the six had used ropes to tie themselves together to buoys and in case one of them fell.

But they have had to improvise their tactics due to the conditions at the mining pool during the search-and-rescue (SAR) for a 17-year-old boy reported to have fallen in earlier.

And then there was the heavy downpour in the area, which raised water levels in the pool and resulted in strong undercurrents in the depths.

“They had formed a human chain in an attempt to reach a nearby floodgate where they believed the drowned victim was located but one of the personnel missed his footing as they traversed the water.

“Strong undercurrents caused by heavy rain earlier then dragged all of them into a whirlpool where they subsequently drowned,” Mohammad Hamdan told reporters attending the funeral prayers at the Section 15 Fire and Rescue Station here today.

It is believed that the firemen had attempted to maneuver across a weir across the mining pool, but were trapped by recirculating water under it.

Asked why SAR operations were conducted at night and not called off due to limited illumination, Mohammad Hamdan said usually such operations would be called off but could be disregarded if someone’s life was at stake.

“During an emergency, we will continue with our SAR operations depending on the situation.

“However we believed we must improve the existing SOP to avoid a repeat of this tragedy,” he said.

He also clarified that the personnel did not attempt a dive rescue but were merely conducting surface rescue when they were pulled into the water by strong undercurrents.

Mohammad Hamdan also said the next-of-kin would be compensated through the agency’s welfare fund for personnel killed in the line of duty.

The six firemen were accorded full ceremonial honours in a final send-off after the completion of their autopsy at Hospital Serdang.

About 500 people attended the prayers and paid their last respects to the victims before they were brought to their respective hometowns for burial.

The six deceased have been identified as:

All personnel were attached to the Pelabuhan Klang and Shah Alam Fire and Rescue Department.
Six rescue divers drown after they are caught in a whirlpool during a mission to locate and rescue a teenager from a disused mining pool in Malaysia.