KUALA KUBU BHARU, Malaysia — Five people are dead and three are still missing after a sudden water surge swept eight people away at Sungai Pertak, a popular picnic and hiking river in Hulu Selangor, on Monday evening, the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department said on Tuesday. Rescuers found four more bodies on Tuesday morning, Bernama reported, after the first victim was recovered overnight.

Source: Bernama, via Life News Agency, Nov 10 2026

The surge struck at about 5.30 p.m. on Monday near Lata Jebus, Bernama reported. The eight people swept away were one Yemeni national, one Malaysian, one Sri Lankan, one Nepalese and four Indian nationals, according to the fire department. Another 26 people from several groups taking part in recreational and hiking activities near the river were stranded before being rescued; Xinhua, citing the department, reported that 19 stranded people had been brought to safety as of early Tuesday and that 34 people in total were caught up in the incident.

The first victim found was a Malaysian man, V. Vijayan, 36, whose body was recovered near Pertak Bridge at about 1.30 a.m. on Tuesday, roughly 2.7 kilometres downstream from where he was swept away at Lata Jebus, the department's assistant director of operations, Ashrul Riezal Asbar, said. Rescuers found four more bodies near Senget Bridge, about one kilometre from Lata Jebus, at 9.20 a.m. on Tuesday; their identities and nationalities had not yet been established in the reports available.

8People swept away by the Sungai Pertak surge on Monday evening
5Bodies recovered by Tuesday morning — Bernama
3People still missing as the search continued on Tuesday
4Indian nationals among the eight swept away, the fire department said
34People in separate groups caught up in the incident, including those stranded and rescued

The search and rescue operation resumed at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, with teams working across four search sectors along the river, Asbar said. The department had received its first distress call at about 5.55 p.m. on Monday, according to earlier reporting by The Sun Malaysia citing the department, and teams from the Kuala Kubu Bharu fire station reached the scene at about 6.30 p.m.

A monsoon-season surge, with little warning

A river water surge — known locally as kepala air — can strike with little warning when heavy rain upstream sends a sudden rush of water downstream, catching people in the river even when the weather where they are seems calmer. The Pertak surge came as Malaysia's monsoon season strengthened: the South China Morning Post, citing Bernama, reported that 422 people from 119 families were still at temporary relief centres in Selangor and Perak on Tuesday amid flooding in both states.

Because four of the eight swept away were Indian nationals and the identities of four of the five recovered victims have not yet been established, it is not yet known how many of the dead are Indian nationals. No statement from India's mission in Malaysia had been reported in the coverage available on Tuesday.

What happens next: the search for the three missing people was continuing along the river on Tuesday, and the fire department is expected to confirm the identities of the four bodies found on Tuesday morning. Any change in the toll, or identification of the victims, would be a new development on this story.