KOTA KINABALU: A 24-year-old man who fell ill during a hiking trip has been found dead in his tent.
He had informed the two friends he was travelling with that he was experiencing body pains and that he would not be able to continue the journey with them in the interior district of Beluran in Sabah.
Sabah Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Hamsa Isnurdini said they received a call about the situation near Borneo Timber Sungai in Pinangah Beluran at around 6.30am on Friday.
“The callers told us that there was a very sick man in the forest and that they needed help to get him to the hospital,” he said in a statement yester- day.
Another call came at 2.25pm that same day, saying that the man, who was an Indonesian, had died.
“A team was already on its way to the scene at the time, which was far from the main road,” Hamsa said.
When they reached the site, he said the deceased man was inside the tent.
Due to the weather and the slippery and steep terrain, he said rescuers could not continue their way out of the forest with the body on the same day and had to wait until 5am the next day (Saturday) to continue.
Furthermore, Hamsa said it was already dark and thus dangerous for them to continue on Friday night.
The case is now being handled by the police.
The cause of death is being investigated.
