Body of Third Teenager Recovered in Pantai Tanjung Lompat Drowning Tragedy

KOTA TINGGI, Sept 4 — The body of another teenager who went missing while swimming at Pantai Tanjung Lompat was recovered this morning, bringing the number of deceased victims found so far to three.

Tanjung Sedili Zone Maritime acting director Maritime Commander Mohd Najib Sam stated that the body of 16-year-old Muhammad Adib Hafiy Kamal was discovered floating at approximately 11:15 am by a boat crew from the Tanjung Lompat Recreation Association. The victim was located about 0.5 nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Siang within the designated search sector.

“The victim was lifted onto the PETIR 50 boat before being transferred to the Kevlar KCB 24 boat and taken to the beach. He was confirmed dead and identified as Muhammad Adib Hafiy after being identified by his next of kin,” Mohd Najib said in a statement today.

A sombre atmosphere enveloped the Crime Scene Control Centre as the victim’s body was brought ashore for identification, where his grieving father was heard saying, “My son is back.” The body was subsequently transferred to Kota Tinggi Hospital for post-mortem procedures.

Following the recovery of Muhammad Adib, search-and-rescue (SAR) teams are focusing efforts on locating Mohamad Haiman Fitri Supian, the sole victim remaining missing. Two other victims—Muhammad Thaqif Rayyan Rumainoor and Alif Taqiuddin Kamal Hasrul—were recovered earlier, while two others, Mohamad Faqrul Isqadar Abdullah and Muhammad Afiq Ruzaini Mazlan, were rescued by members of the public shortly after the incident.

The drowning occurred when six teenagers from a group of 15, who had been camping in the area for three days, encountered difficulties while swimming. Entering its third day, the multi-agency SAR operation resumed at 7:00 am with 61 personnel expanding the search grid to approximately 103 square nautical miles despite facing south-southwesterly winds of 20 to 30 kilometres per hour and waves up to 1.5 metres high.

–NMT