All 30 film crew members trapped in Gua Tempurung rescued

IPOH, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- All 30 international film company crew members trapped in Gua Tempurung in Gopeng near here have been rescued.

Perak Police chief Datuk Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the Kampar police headquarters received information at 4.10 pm about civilians being trapped inside Gua Tempurung due to rising water levels.

“A team from the Gopeng and Kota Bharu police stations were dispatched to the location. Based on initial investigations, the incident happened due to continuous heavy rain since 4 pm. The victims became trapped after the water level rose suddenly in the cave.

“The water was about 1.5-meter deep.  All the victims were crew members of an international film company from Singapore working on a film,” he said in a statement tonight.

Mohd Yusri said the total number of crew involved was 80 people and the 30 who were trapped included locals and Singaporeans.

He said members of the Fire and Rescue Department and the police launched a  joint rescue effort and as a result, all those who were trapped were rescued and taken out of the area, with no injuries reported.

One of the trapped crew members, Muhd Aidilfitri Ilias, 20, who has been working with the film company for two months, said they entered the cave at 8 am and, at about 4 pm, the water level rose suddenly up to their waist level.

“The situation was chaotic and everyone panicked as we were trapped for two hours. I managed to contact the crew outside the cave to inform them of our situation so that they could call the Fire and Rescue Department.

“I was traumatised and afraid when it happened and I was only thinking of saving myself and our equipment,” he told reporters when met at the scene.

Meanwhile, Mohd Fitri Shah Abdullah, 25, said he was just thankful they managed to escape unscathed.

“We couldn’t contact anyone due to the limited communication network and we could only communicate with our other crew members using a walkie-talkie,” he said.

-- BERNAMA