SEMPORNA, Sept 15 – A multi-agency search operation is underway to locate a soldier who went missing during ‘Ops PASIR’ duties on Pulau Mataking here last Friday, covering an area of 108 nautical square miles, according to the Joint Task Force 2 (ATB 2).
In a statement, ATB 2 said the operation to locate Muhammad Zulkarnain Jaafar, 27, from Company C, Fifth Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment (5 RAMD), resumed this morning.
The second day of the search involves 15 sectors and includes assets from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Marine Police Force (PPM).
“Also assisting are the Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Navy and ATB 2, with key assets including KD Sri Johor, interceptor boats, as well as EC725 and CN235 MSA aircraft,” it said.
Sea conditions during the search ranged from 0.5 to 1 metre in wave height, with southeasterly winds of 10 to 20 kilometres per hour (km/h).
Yesterday, it was reported that two soldiers from the same company had gone missing while on duty. One of them, Muhammad Irfan Haiqal Abdullah, 20, was later found unconscious and pronounced dead after receiving medical attention.
