Tense Moments: "I Grabbed A Pipe And Hung On For Dear Life".

BAKARUDIN Makmun, 28, is hoping for a miracle that his wife will be found. His wife, Jawarti, 17, from East Java, is still missing after their house was swept away in a mud flood which hit Bertam Valley here yesterday.

At press time, the search and rescue team was still looking for those missing, including Bakarudin's wife. Recalling his ordeal, Bakarudin, from West Java, said he was sleeping with his wife in the living room while his parents were in the bedroom when his house was hit by the rising flood water. "There was no way we could get out of the house.

I tried to open the door, but failed to do so at first. Bakarudin said he managed to grab a pipe about 100m away from the house and held on for dear life, but his wife was swept away. He said that when the water subsided, he walked back to find his house had been completely destroyed. While Bakarudin waits anxiously for news on his wife, fate dealt a cruel and decisive blow to fellow Indonesian Ragom Wasrip, 54, whose wife lost her life in yesterday's tragedy.

His wife, Kesmat Iduan, 46, was with Ragom in their kongsi house in Bertam Valley when the flood hit the area. "We couldn't get out of the house as the current was extremely strong. We were trapped, and water was gushing into the house." Ragom said he held onto his wife's hand all the while. "The current pushed us right up to the roof. I managed to break off a portion of the roof and managed to escape, but not my wife." Met at Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom mortuary here yesterday after claiming his wife's body, Ragom said they were planning to return to their village in Surabaya, Indonesia in December to visit their families.

Kesmat's body will be flown back to Indonesia for funeral arrangements. The Indonesian embassy had been informed of her death. Besides Kesmat, Bangladeshi national, Md Jahangir Alam Fazlor Rahman, in his 30s, was also killed in the incident. Another victim, Shaifa Jamil, 19, said he had heard the warning siren several times and tried to leave the house with his mother. "However, we could not leave, as water rose to chest level in no time. 

verything happened so quickly that we could not even save any of our personal belongings," he said when met at Dewan Orang Ramai Ringlet, where he is taking shelter. Search and rescue operations were called off at 6pm yesterday and would resume at 8am today.