JERANTUT: Cloudy conditions and thick fog around Gunung Reskit in Kuala Tahan resulted in the failure of the operation to retrieve the body of a woman climber who died yesterday (Feb 6).
Jerantut district police chief, Superintendent Azman Mat Kamis, said that the operation using the Fire and Rescue Department's helicopter flew twice, at 8.30am and 3.30pm.
"After failing to locate the exact location, the helicopter returned and landed to refuel in Gua Musang, before landing again at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Clifford school field in Kuala Lipis at 12.30pm.
"The second flight was carried out at 3.30pm, but it also failed and had to return to Kuala Lipis. The operation was then postponed at 5.15pm," he said.
He said that the flight operation will resume at 7am on Thursday morning (Feb 8) and is expected to land at Gunung Gedung, which is about 1.5 kilometers (km) from the location of the incident.
Earlier, Zahalita Othman, 52, who had been participating in a mountain climbing program since Feb 1, tragically died on Gunung Reskit in Kuala Tahan.