Semporna: A multi-agency search operation is underway to locate a soldier who went missing during ‘Ops PASIR’ duties on Pulau Mataking here last Friday, covering an area of 108 nautical square miles.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, ATB 2 stated that the operation to locate Muhammad Zulkarnain Jaafar, 27, from Company C, Fifth Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment (5 RAMD), resumed this morning. The second day of the search involves 15 sectors and includes assets from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Marine Police Force (PPM).

The search is further supported by the Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Navy, and ATB 2, utilizing key assets such as KD Sri Johor, interceptor boats, and aircraft including EC725 and CN235 MSA. Sea conditions during the search ranged from 0.5 to 1 meter in wave height, with southeasterly winds of 10 to 20 kilometers per hour (km/h).

It was reported that two soldiers from the same company had gone missing while on duty. One of them, Muhammad Irfan Haiqal Abdullah, 20, was later found unconscious and pronounced dead after receiving medical attention.