KUANTAN, April 22 — A swimming outing by nine Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) students turned tragic when two of them drowned at the Sungai Pandan waterfall here today.

Kuantan district police chief ACP Mohamad Noor Yusof Ali identified the dead as A. Sharvin Ananth, 23, from Skudai, Johor, and R. Goobi, 23, from Karak, Bentong.

"The two were swimming with their friends before they disappeared and failed to return to the surface. Their friends immediately alerted the police at 1.45pm,” he said in a statement.

Mohamad Noor said Sharvin Ananth’s body was found at 3.13pm while Goobi’s body was recovered 30 minutes later.

Pahang Fire and Rescue Department operations division assistant director Ismail Abdul Ghani said divers found the bodies at the bottom of the waterfall at a depth of three metres where they were last seen.

The bodies were taken to Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital for post-mortem, he said.

The search and rescue operation involved 20 officers from the Water Rescue Team of the Taman Tas and Kuantan fire and rescue stations. — Bernama