MOTHER’S ANGUISH... Wan Azleela Wan Abdullah, 32, is overcome with grief on seeing the bodies of her two daughters who drowned on Tuesday evening. The two girls and their younger sister were swept away by strong currents when bathing at Hutan Lipur Ulu Bendul in Kuala Pilah with their father, Syed Ahmad Ibrahim. Wan Azleela is consoled by her brother Wan Aziz and relatives at her brother-in-law’s house in Senawang yesterday.
The search and rescue team recovered the bodies of two of the three sisters who were swept away by strong currents at a waterfall in the Ulu Bendul recreational park early yesterday morning.
The body of Nursyaza Alisa Syed Ahmad, 5, was the first to be located 500m from where she was spotted swimming with her sisters.
Her body was found by her uncle, Abdul Azam Wahad, 23, who joined the search operation, in a flood tunnel near Jalan Seremban-Kuala Pilah at 3.15am.
The second body, that of 4-year-old Nursyaza Azira, was found in a river near SK Ulu Bendul, 2.5km from the picnic spot, at 10.20am.
The arrival of the two bodies at the Tuanku Ampuan Najihah Hospital mortuary here set a sombre mood for relatives and the mother of the three children, Wan Azleela Wan Abdullah, 32, fainted several times.
The body of the youngest sibling, Nursyaza Sakina, 2, has yet to be found.
Azam said although the search operation ended at 10.20am on Tuesday, relatives of the siblings continued to look for their bodies.
"At least 10 of us used torchlights to search for their bodies in surrounding areas of the Ulu Bendul recreational park.
"At 3.15am, I saw what appeared to be a body trapped in a flood tunnel. It was heartbreaking to see that it was the lifeless body of my niece," said Azam, who had just gotten married on Saturday.
In the 5pm incident on Tuesday, the girls, together with their divorced father Syed Ahmad Ibrahim, 28, and his girlfriend Alwani Abu Hassan, in her 20s, went for a picnic outing.
They were swimming in a waterfall in the Ulu Bendul recreational park when the three girls and Alwani were dragged underwater by strong gushes of water from Gunung Angsi.
Syed Ahmad had tried to save the trio but his efforts proved futile as the three girls were quickly swept away by strong currents.
He and Alwani were also caught in the currents and were saved by other picnickers.
They were sent to Kuala Pilah Hospital, where they received treatment for injuries to the face and body.
District police chief Superintendent Jaafar Baba confirmed that two bodies had been found while the search for the body of the youngest child was ongoing.
He said the search operation was being conducted in the area and nearby rivers by a team of 40 personnel from the police, Fire and Rescue Department, Rela and the Forestry Department.
