By Johan Aziz
Man rescued three days after slipping, breaking leg
KENINGAU: Fire and Rescue Department personnel endured difficult weather and geographical terrain to rescue a man who broke his leg when he slipped while fishing in the river at Ulu Pangas Apin-Apin here on Sunday.
Department station chief Mudi Pangiran, who led the threeday search and rescue (SAR) operation which ended yesterday, told The Borneo Post that the department received a call at 4.50am on Sunday informing of what happened to the victim, Zaidi Sius.
Acting on the information, he said the department dispatched ten personnel to conduct the rescue operation on the same day. They were assisted by 26 villagers.
“The journey to the location took over three hours of trekking as it was steep and hilly and thickly forested. The team was also hampered by the continuous heavy rain.
“The 41-year-old Zaidi had gone fishing with four friends in the river at Ulu Pangas when he slipped and broke his left leg,” he said.
Mudi said the man's friend gave first aid by binding the broken left leg with a splint before the arrival of the SAR team.
According to Mudi, bringing the injured man out on a stretcher was slow and tricky because of the geographical terrain and inclement weather. They could only manage to reach the place where they parked their vehicles around 12.30pm on the third day (yesterday). Communication was difficult as there was no telecommunication coverage in the area.
Mudi said the injured man was taken to the hospital about 2.30pm yesterday by a hospital ambulance. His condition has been reported as stable with only a broken leg injury.