KUALA LUMPUR – The bodies of a couple and their four children, who had been missing since Saturday, were found this morning in a car submerged in Sungai Korok, Kedah.
The family — identified as Mohd Azim Ezzat Ishak, 32, his wife Nurul Hidayah Khalijah Razman Effendy, 31, and their children aged between six months and nine years — were confirmed dead by rescue authorities after their vehicle, a Proton Iswara, was pulled from the river.
The discovery was confirmed by Kedah Fire and Rescue Department Zone 1 chief, Senior Fire Superintendent Ahmad Aminuddin Abd Rahim, who said they received an emergency call about a vehicle in the river at 8.38am.
“We were informed that a Proton Iswara Sedan was in the river and there were six victims inside — a man, a woman, three children, and a baby,” he said in a statement.
He added that rescue teams broke the car’s windows to retrieve the bodies, all of whom were found in the back seats. The operation concluded at 11am.
The river, he said, is around six metres deep, and tyre skid marks were found roughly one metre from the riverbank, suggesting the vehicle had braked before plunging into the water.
Family members had been searching for the victims since Saturday, when they failed to return home to Jerlun after spending the night at a relative’s house in Taman Aman, Jitra.
Nor Syafiqah Ishak, 28, sister of Mohd Azim, said she and others had been scouring the route near the river for days.
“Actually, we’ve been searching along Sungai Korok since the day my brother went missing, but found nothing because the river is wide, deep, and murky,” she said.
“It was only this morning, when the water level dropped slightly, that someone spotted the tip of a car bonnet. We rushed to the site, and when the car was pulled out and the bodies brought ashore, my younger brother confirmed they were my brother, his wife, and their children.”
Earlier reports stated the family had stayed overnight at the sister’s home on Friday. According to another sister, Nur Adliah Shuhada, in her 20s, she assumed they had left early the next morning as Mohd Azim, a security guard, usually left home before dawn, and his wife operated a business.
“I thought they had gone back to Jerlun, but when my brother’s mother-in-law called and said they hadn’t arrived, I became worried. I tried calling them, but there was no answer.
“Later, I heard there was a Proton Saga in the river at Sungai Korok, but the registration number didn’t match my brother’s car,” she said.
The tragic case has now been handed over to police for further investigation. – July 7, 2025