MARUDI: An overnight search operation for a missing 64-year-old man in Marudi has been suspended because of poor visibility and wet weather, rescue officials said.
Liew Mei Koon was reported missing on Thursday after villagers found his motorcycle, clothing and fishing equipment abandoned near Sungai Ridan in Marudi.
The discovery was made beneath a bridge along Jalan Industri Sungai Ridan, where the man is believed to have been fishing earlier in the evening.
Villagers alerted the victim’s younger brother at about 5.50pm, prompting an initial search of the surrounding riverbank, but no trace of the missing man was found.
The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department said it received an emergency call at 9.20pm and dispatched a team from the Marudi fire station.
Firefighters and police officers searched the area surrounding the bridge and nearby riverbank before suspending operations at 10.30pm.
Officials said light rain, darkness and the absence of lighting at the scene had made search efforts unsafe.
The operation is expected to resume this morning.
Five firefighters and one fire engine, and police were involved in the search.
