University student rescued from Niah Cave after experiencing breathing difficulties

MIRI (Oct 13): A 19-year-old university student was rescued after experiencing breathing difficulties during a trip to Niah Cave yesterday.

The student was part of a group of 50 people, including a lecturer, who were trekking the cave as part of their course’s activity.

Batu Niah fire station chief Rary Binjie said they received a call about the incident at 2.30pm, and seven firefighters were despatched to the location.

“When they arrived, firefighters, joined by two personnel from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), went straight into the cave.

“They reached the victim at around 3.40pm, located between the Great Cave and Painted Cave, about five kilometres from the jetty,” he said in a statement last night.

Rary said that the firefighters placed the victim on a stretcher and brought her to Rumah Patrick Libau at Sungai Tangap.

“The victim was then handed over to the SFC personnel, who transported her to the Batu Niah clinic for further treatment.”

The operation ended at 5.35pm.