Body of drowned ferry crew member found

KUALA PERLIS: The search and rescue (SAR) mission for a ferry crew member who fell into the sea was stopped after his body was found about 50m from the Kuala Perlis Ferry Terminal here at noon today.
Kangar district police deputy chief DSP Zaini Talib said the victim, Firdaus Mohamad Zulkifli, 20, of Baling, fell from the ferry when trying to close the door of a ferry next to the one he was travelling in at 8.50pm last night.
"The search operation began at 10 last night covering 56km² from Kurong Tengar to Kuala Sungai Baru here.
"It involved 122 rescue personnel using seven boats and a sampan," he told reporters here.
The body was sent to the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital in Kangar for an autopsy before burial.
Meanwhile, the victim's father, Mohamad Zulkifli Md Isa, 50, when met by reporters said the eldest of three siblings did not show any strange behaviour before the incident.
"My wife Zaiton Saidin, 50, had called him on Jan 27 and always reminded him not to neglect prayers and take care of himself. I can't believe he went before us.
"I got a call from his friend who also works as a ferry crew member, and he said my son had drowned at about 10pm, and we rushed here from our home in Kampung Bukit, Baling," he said.
Besides the police, other agencies involved in the SAR mission were the Marine Police, Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Civil Defence Force Malaysia, Customs Department, and the Marine Department of Malaysia. — Bernama