‘THE LONGEST 6O SECONDS

Woman recalls near death experience when her car was swept into a stream

NUR AQIDAH AZIZI KUALA PILAH news@nst.com.my

IT was the longest 60 seconds of Sofiyyah Siswadi’s life as she struggled to escape from her sinking vehicle, which was swept into a stream by floodwaters in Jalan Seremban-Kuala Pilah yesterday morning.

In the 4.46am incident, Sofiyyah’s car, which was driven by her friend, Rosmah Baharin, 37, was washed into a 5m-deep stream near Kampung Sawah Liat, 24km from Seremban, Negri Sembilan.

When met at Tunku Ampuan Najihah Hospital (TANH) emergency ward yesterday, Sofiyyah said the thought of dying crossed her mind when she struggled to free herself from the car.

“It happened so fast. I managed to wind down the window to escape but before I could do so, the car, with us inside, was engulfed in water. I tried to open the door but failed due to the strong water pressure.

“I thought I would die and had lost hope of being rescued. At that time, I only thought about my four kids,” she said, adding that she tried to wave her hands through the car window, with little hope that people would notice.

However, luck was on their side when two firemen, who were nearby, noticed their plight.

Sofiyyah said the two firemen jumped into the water and rescued her and Rosmah.

“It was the longest 60 seconds of my life. I am thankful to the firemen, who didn’t think twice about rescuing us.

“Without them, my friend and I wouldn’t have survived.”

One of the firemen, Mohd Jepliey Ambasing, 23, said he and his colleague, Wan Hazizi Abd Halim, 33, were relocating villagers affected by the flash flood in the area when they noticed the car with the two victims.

“We jumped into the water to rescue them. We brought them out to a safer place by using a rope before sending them to TANH.”

Kuala Pilah Fire and Rescue Department chief Jefri Amat said the water level in several parts of Kampung Sawah Liat and Kampung Ulu Bendul here had reached 1.5m following a three-hour torrential rain, which started at 1am yesterday.

“Besides the two women, we also rescued eight people from two families,” he said.

PIC BY HAZREEN MOHAMAD (Left) Sofiyyah Siswadi’s car. (Right) Sofiyyah recalling her experience when her vehicle was swept into a stream during a flash flood near Kampung Sampung Liat in Kuala Pilah yesterday.