KOTA KINABALU: Firemen found the charred remains of an elderly man after a house was razed in Sabah's east coast Kinabatangan district.
A Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they found the body of Ambang Pafakai, 84, when clearing debris from the kitchen are of the house at Kampung Pauh in Kota Kinabatangan on Wednesday (March 1)
The spokesman said they received a distress call through the Malaysian Emergency Response Services (MERS) 999 number at 1.15pm, alerting about the fire some 82km from the fire station.
"There was neither government integrated radio network (GIRN) nor phone lines at the location," the spokesman said in a statement.
Firemen also had to use a utility vehicle due to the muddy and potholed stretch of road leading to the house, he added.
The fire team hosed down the structure using water sourced from a nearby pond.
"The team handed over the remains to the police for the next course of action," the spokesman said, adding that the operation ended at 2.35pm.
In a separate case, efforts to locate a missing fisherman who fell off his boat near Manukan Island have been futile on the third day of the search.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said the search area had been expanded to four sectors, covering an area of 147 sq nautical miles.
The fisherman, identified as Indonesian citizen La Edi, 24, has been missing since Feb 27.
The boat skipper realised he was missing around 9am when the boat was about five nautical miles from Manukan Island.
The man was last seen wearing black shorts and was shirtless.
The MMEA is being assisted by other agencies in the rescue mission including the Fire and Rescue Department, the Navy, marine police and the Civil Defence Force.
