SEREMBAN, April 23 — A family outing to Port Dickson turned into tragedy as three sisters who went swimming at the Pantai Cahaya beach drowned while two others were rescued by members of the public and firemen, near here, this afternoon.

Telok Kemang Fire and Rescue station chief Azizee Alias said the three who drowned were identified as R. Kalaivani, 30, R. Dawige, 29 and R. Sathiyadevi, 19, from Banting, Selangor.

Their bodies were found after receiving a distress call from members of the public at 5.57pm.

"The bodies of the three victims was found about 50 metres from the beach. At the time of the incident, it was high tide and the sea was choppy. I was also informed that the area was restricted from swimming activities.

"Two others who were rescued were R. Veeran, 26, and J. Sathiswaran, 29. They were rescued by members of the public and firemen. The duo were later sent to the hospital for treatment,” he told Bernama today.

Azizee said the bodies of the three sisters was handed to the police. — Bernama