KUALA LUMPUR: A Chinese national and her Malaysian friend drowned after they were swept away by a water surge while bathing at the Kampung Orang Asli Pertak waterfall in Kuala Kubu Bharu, near here, on Wednesday.
The incident happened following heavy rain upstream, which caused the water level to surge amid strong currents.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Wan Md Razali Wan Ismail said the body of the woman from China, identified as Xia Yuan Ling, 55, was found pinned between rocks at 6.18 pm, about 200 metres from where they were washed away.
The body of Malaysian Jenny Wong, 52, was found trapped between rocks at 10.20 pm, about 50 metres away from the first victim, he said in a statement.
"We launched an operation to look for the victims by using surface search techniques. The search was called off at 11 pm," he added.
He said that upon receiving a call at 5.30 pm, five firemen from the Kuala Kubu Bharu Fire and Rescue station were dispatched to the location.
Md Razali said the two bodies had been sent to the Kuala Kubu Bharu Hospital for a post-mortem.-- BERNAMA