PORT DICKSON: Firemen had to be called in to save a turtle weighing about 150kg after it had got caught in a rubbish trap near the Tuanku Ja’afar power station here.
The turtle, believed to be a hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), was found by staff at the station in its drainage.
State Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (operations) Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar said seven firemen from the Port Dickson station were despatched to the location upon receiving a distress call about 11.45am.
“The team arrived a few minutes later and immediately began the operation to save the turtle. They found the turtle unable to move as it was trapped between two of the bars in the rubbish trap.
“Several firemen were then lowered by rope into the water to free the turtle,” he said in a statement.
Mukhlis said the operation to free the marine animal took about 30 minutes.
He said checks on the turtle showed that it was uninjured. It was later released into the sea at a nearby beach.