Man drowns while competing in triathlon
PORT DICKSON: A 39-year-old man drowned while competing in the 2018 Port Dickson International Triathlon here yesterday morning.
Port Dickson district police deputy chief DSP Mohd Faisal Mohd Noor in a statement here said the incident took place when the victim identified as Tharm Wei Wong from Penang was performing the swimming routine at the Port Dickson beach.
“The victim is believed to have drowned while he was performing the 750-metre swimming event.
“Fire and rescue personnel performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the victim but there was no response,” he said adding that the victim was sent to the Port Dickson Hospital here for treatment but was pronounced dead by a team of medical officers.
Meanwhile a committee will be set up to probe into the death of a participant of the Port Dickson International Triathlon yesterday.
Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said the committee would be headed by the ministry’s secretary- general Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali.
“The committee will look into, among others, if there was any breach of conditions or laws,” he told reporters here.
He expressed his condolences to the family of Thram Wei Wong, 39, who drowned while participating in the 750metre swimming event at the international triathlon.
Earlier, Syed Saddiq met Thram’s family members at the forensic unit of the Port Dickson Hospital.
The tragedy that befell two Port Dickson International Triathlon (PDIT) participants, with one of them found drowned and the other missing, was not due to the negligence of the organiser, but was an accident.
Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun said the organisers of PDIT had switched the route for the swimming event to a safer area after realising that the sea was turbulent early yesterday morning.
“The security aspect carried out by the organisers had been enhanced compared to the previous edition and it had also obtained the approval of the Fire and Rescue Department.
“But today’s tragedy is unpredictable because as we know it is a rugged sport which sure has risks that have to be taken into consideration,” he told reporters after hearing a briefing by the Negeri Sembilan Fire and Rescue Department director Norazam Khamis here yesterday.
Also present was State Government Secretary Dr Razali Ab Malik. - Bernama