FMT:
Malaysian volunteers suspend flood rescue operations in Hatyai
They have managed to help at least 1,500 Malaysians return to the country
Sungai Petani volunteer fire and rescue team chairman Leong Beng Tat said all new requests for aid will be channelled directly to the Thai military and police for further action. (X pic)
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian volunteer rescuers in Hatyai, Thailand, suspended operations after the nation’s military declared several areas dangerous and unsafe to enter.
Sungai Petani volunteer fire and rescue team chairman Leong Beng Tat said rescue operations, ongoing for the past five days with volunteers from Johor, Perak, Selangor and several other northern states, were halted at 7pm yesterday.
Leong said Thai authorities had identified several flooded zones as high-risk, with strong currents, collapsed structures and unstable pathways.
“We are aware that there are still Malaysians in the affected areas, but the volunteers have been barred from continuing operations.
“All new requests for aid will be channelled directly to the Thai military and police for further action,” Harian Metro reported him as saying.
Leong said he hoped Malaysians would continue to provide moral support for volunteer fire and rescue teams who frequently go to the front lines during disasters.
“The volunteers have borne their own costs to rescue Malaysians stranded in Thailand. Some of us were injured, but we remain grateful that we have managed to rescue many Malaysian tourists,” he said.
Leong said the volunteers had helped at least 1,500 Malaysians return to the country over the past five days.
In a statement, the foreign ministry said that fewer than 300 Malaysians remained stranded, with two hotels where Malaysians are staying still inaccessible due to high water levels.
Wisma Putra said a large-scale rescue operation was carried out between 8am and 1pm yesterday to evacuate stranded Malaysians, with the assistance of the Thai army.
It said efforts would continue until all affected Malaysians had been assisted.
Sungai Petani volunteer fire and rescue team chairman Leong Beng Tat said rescue operations, ongoing for the past five days with volunteers from Johor, Perak, Selangor and several other northern states, were halted at 7pm yesterday.
Leong said Thai authorities had identified several flooded zones as high-risk, with strong currents, collapsed structures and unstable pathways.
“We are aware that there are still Malaysians in the affected areas, but the volunteers have been barred from continuing operations.
“All new requests for aid will be channelled directly to the Thai military and police for further action,” Harian Metro reported him as saying.
Leong said he hoped Malaysians would continue to provide moral support for volunteer fire and rescue teams who frequently go to the front lines during disasters.
“The volunteers have borne their own costs to rescue Malaysians stranded in Thailand. Some of us were injured, but we remain grateful that we have managed to rescue many Malaysian tourists,” he said.
Leong said the volunteers had helped at least 1,500 Malaysians return to the country over the past five days.
In a statement, the foreign ministry said that fewer than 300 Malaysians remained stranded, with two hotels where Malaysians are staying still inaccessible due to high water levels.
Wisma Putra said a large-scale rescue operation was carried out between 8am and 1pm yesterday to evacuate stranded Malaysians, with the assistance of the Thai army.
It said efforts would continue until all affected Malaysians had been assisted.
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