We can’t imagine the ordeal this man had to go through!
Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) ranger Tarmizi Ahmad Japli carried out his duties like any other day when he was in Taman Negara’s Yong Forest Reserve working on a national tiger population count study with his colleagues, according to the New Straits Times.
The 30-year-old was part of a group of seven rangers who went on the expedition on 11th August. Five of these rangers (including Tarmizi) were on the way back to their camping spot. Three of these rangers followed a trail while Tarmizi and another ranger walked along a nearby river bank to retrieve a camera that was being used for the study.
Source: The Star
However, Tarmizi got separated from his colleague as they followed the river. Soon after that, the other rangers immediately reported their missing colleague to the authorities.
Search and rescue operations began two days later on the 13th of August, scouring the area near where his colleagues set up camp during their expedition. Weeks went by, but Tarmizi was nowhere to be found.
Luckily, their search came to an end two weeks later when he was found by a team of 30 search and rescue personnel about four kilometres from his base camp last Saturday evening at around 3.55pm (25th August).
Source: NST
“Even though the distance between the base camp and the victim was only four kilometres, it took us four hours to find him because of the hilly terrain and the high number of streams,” Pahang deputy police chief Datuk Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri told the daily.
“Prior to the rescue, the police air wing unit scoured the area three times using a heat seeking device but we could not locate the victim because of the thick foliage.”
Soon after he was found, Tarmizi was transferred to the base camp before being airlifted to SMK Clifford, where he was then transported to Hospital Kuala Lipis.
It was reported that on the day he went missing, Tarmizi was carrying a backpack which only contained mineral water bottles and chocolates. So, how did he manage to survive alone in the jungle for two whole weeks?
Source: Boreno Post
Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim explained to mStar that every ranger is well-equipped with adequate training before they can go into the wilderness to conduct risky studies like this.
“Every ranger is trained for situations like this. There are three main options rangers should act on when they are lost in the wilderness, depending on the situation, which is to either stay put, back track, or find a river.”
“This was what Tarmizi was doing for the past two weeks until we could finally find him.”
The 30-year-old was found in a healthy and safe condition but was traumatised and exhausted from spending two weeks alone in the dangerous wilderness. Tarmizi has been granted time off to fully recover from the ordeal and to spend time with his family before heading back to work.
We’re relieved to hear of this ranger’s rescue, and hope he can fully recover in peace now.
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