Indonesian national dies in Malaysian lake as embassy staff attempt rescue
Kuala Lumpur — An Indonesian national was found dead after jumping into a lake in Selangor, Malaysia, despite an employee of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur attempting to rescue him.
The Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur disclosed the incident timeline on Wednesday regarding the incident at Lake Valley in Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Selangor, and the rescue efforts undertaken by embassy staff.
On 9 March 2026, the embassy received a report from local residents about a homeless person believed to be an Indonesian national who had been in the public facility area for several days.
In response to the report, on 9 March at 15:30, embassy staff travelled to the location to speak with the individual and offer accommodation at the embassy’s temporary shelter facility.
Upon arrival at the location, embassy staff did not immediately find the person as he had already left the area and was seen heading towards the lake. The Indonesian national was subsequently observed jumping into Lake Valley in Bandar Tun Hussein Onn.
Witnessing the incident, embassy staff heroically attempted a rescue operation by jumping into the lake to save the individual. However, due to difficult terrain conditions and limitations in reaching the victim, the rescue operation was unsuccessful and the individual could not be located.
The embassy then coordinated with local police, who arrived at the scene together with fire and rescue personnel and immediately began initial search efforts. As the initial search yielded no results, at approximately 22:10 that evening, Malaysian fire and rescue personnel deployed a scuba diving team to continue the search underwater.
During the underwater search, the victim was eventually discovered deceased. The body was transported to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital for further processing.
The embassy staff member has provided an official statement to Malaysian police as a witness. The embassy expressed condolences over the death of the Indonesian national. The embassy continues to monitor the autopsy process at the hospital and is tracing the family in coordination with relevant authorities in Indonesia.