KOTA BHARU: A man died after being electrocuted when his home in Kampung Banir Belikong, Pasir Puteh, was flooded early this morning.
Pasir Puteh Fire and Rescue Department Operations Commander Mohd Rukiman Ab Rahman said the incident occurred at 4.30 am when Tuan Mohd Zakaria Tuan Ismail, 33, was believed to have been attempting to unplug a washing machine located behind his house after floodwaters rose to about one metre.
“The victim, who was wet, was electrocuted before falling and being swept away by the floodwaters into the river behind his house,“ he said when contacted.
He added that the fire department received an emergency call at 4.55 am and a team arrived at the scene about three minutes later.
Rukiman said Tuan Mohd Zakaria’s body was found entangled in a tree by the riverbank near his home at 5.30 am and was later brought to Hospital Tengku Anis Hospital for a post-mortem.
Meanwhile, the victim’s brother, Tuan Muhammad Tuan Ismail, 38, said the incident occurred after he and his brother had returned from surveying the flood-affected areas around Kampung Bukit Abal.
“I rushed to his house with another sibling to search for him, but the water level was too deep and the current too strong for us to find him, until the fire department team arrived,“ he said.