Six years on, Gua Rusa tragedy still fresh in fireman's mind

The Star

20-07-2025

Remembering the past: The tragedy remains etched in the memory of Mohd Sufri (fourth from left) who was involved in the SAR mission for flash flood victims in Gua Rusa, Mulu National Park, Miri. — Bernama
KUCHING: The tragic events of July 12, 2019, are still vividly remembered by Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) officer Mohd Sufri Alulakal, who was part of a search and rescue (SAR) operation following flash floods at the iconic Gua Rusa (Deer Cave) loca­ted within the Mulu National Park in Miri.
The incident, which claimed two lives – local tour guide Rovie­zal Robin, 20, and Dutch tourist Peter Hans Hovenkamp, 66 – led to the formation of the Mountain Cave Search and Rescue (Mocsar) team by Sarawak JBPM a year later to carry out SAR operations in mountains and caves.
For Mohd Sufri, 30, who is now attached to the Lutong Fire and Rescue Station, the Gua Rusa mission was his first experience dealing with a tragedy.
He said at that time, he had just completed a basic course con­ducted by the Special Tactical Ope­ration and Rescue Team of Malaysia (STORM).
'Together with other STORM members, we were flown to the scene of the tragedy by a JBPM helicopter.
'I was still new to the team but when I was assigned to Mulu, I knew it wasn't just a routine ope­ration,' he told Bernama recently during a visit to Gua Rusa in conjunction with the Gunung Api expedition in Mulu National Park, organised by the Kuching Division Journalists Association (KDJA).
Mohd Sufri was assigned to accompany 10 KDJA members from various media outlets who took on the challenge of scaling Gunung Api, also known as Mulu Pinnacles.
The expedition was held in conjunction with Sarawak Day on July 22.
The Mulu National Park, recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site, contains one of the longest cave networks in the world.
Gua Rusa is among the largest caves in the world in terms of main chamber size, spanning approximately two hectares and reaching a height of 122m.
Recalling the Gua Rusa incident, Mohd Sufri said when the SAR team arrived at the scene on the morning of July 13, Hoven­kamp's body had already been found – floating in the Melinau George River inside the cave.
'Our task was to search for Roviezal.
'Although the floods had rece­ded, the narrow passages and dark conditions of the cave, along with the danger posed by rapids and the limestone structures, made the search more hazardous.
'The challenge was that we had to dive as the river water was deep...at our nose level,' added Mohd Sufri, who is also a member of JBPM's Water Rescue Team.
He said the second victim's body was found on the third day of the SAR mission, caught on a log near the cave entrance.
Now, after seven years of service with JBPM, he said the SAR mission in Gua Rusa remains his most challenging operation.
The tragedy also led to the permanent closure of the Garden of Eden (involving Section A), one of the trails in Gua Rusa leading to the Melinau George waterfall where the flash floods occurred.
Roviezal's younger brother, Gideon, 20, now works as a tour guide and porter at the Mulu National Park while their older sibling, Willvien, 31, is a member of Mocsar.
'I was 15 when the tragedy occurred. Now, I want to carry on my late brother's legacy as a tour guide here,' Gideon said.