Only Annan Boysie knew his motivation for attempting to brave floodwaters on Thursday which ultimately cost him his life.
According to one of the men who tried to rescue him, Boysie was warned against attempting the drive but disregard their calls.
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday, Hunters’ Search and Rescue Team member Mark Chin Aleong said he was on his way home and was stopped by the floodwaters. He said while waiting it out, he met Boysie on the road.
“The vehicle approached driven by the now deceased, Mr Boysie. We cautioned him not to try to go into the depths of the water or try to navigate to the other side of the road but he didn’t heed our caution and he waved us off and decided to continue driving,” Chin Aleong said.
He said he witnessed Boysie get into difficulty just 15 metres after leaving where they were standing.
“Within a couple of minutes the van was dancing all over the place because the water had already taken control of the vehicle and that is when we realised he was in difficulties and there was no recovery from that for him to come back onto the road,” he said.
It was then, he said, Boysie and his Isuzu D-Max pickup went into the river.
“We were hoping that he would have tried to escape the vehicle by jumping out but that didn’t happen,” Chin Aleong said.
He said in less than a minute, the vehicle disappeared under the water. It was at this point that Chin Aleong gathered help from other bystanders to attempt to rescue Boysie.
Tying one end of a rope to himself and the other to a truck, Chin Aleong dove into the raging floodwaters.
However, he said they had difficulties trying to find the vehicle in the murky waters.
“I eventually found the...hood of the vehicle. On standing on the hood of the vehicle, the water was at least two and a half feet over the hood already, so there was little time to try to help Mr Boysie,” he said.
Chin Aleong said the truck driver joined him in the water and together they made several attempts to open the doors and break the van’s windows with a hammer but were unsuccessful.
“At that time, a couple of minutes had already elapsed so I was hoping there was at least a pocket of air that he could have breathe but I went down again trying to break the glass, another person tried to help me break the glass but nothing worked,” he said.
“So, at that point, I had to make the conscious decision to save myself (and) instead of being rescue, it would have been a recovery.”
Chin Aleong said if it was not for the men on the roadway pulling him in with the rope, he too might have drowned because of the strong current.
He said this was when they called police, Fire Service and search and rescue teams. He said he went back into the water later to assist the Fire Service in recovering the vehicle and Boysie’s body.
Chin Aleong said he was deeply sorry for the tragedy but noted that the situation could have been avoided had Boysie heeded the warnings.
“He did not have to die. He did not have to brave that water. But condolences goes out to his family, friends, loved ones, well-wishers. It is sad. I feel for anybody that is going through this but it could have been avoided and I stand by that ... if he had only take heed to our caution,” he said.
—Rishard Khan
