KOTA KINABALU, May 6 — Three hikers in the Mak Sina river valley in Lahad Datu on the east coast of Sabah were found drowned last night while a search is ongoing for three more hikers from the same group who are still missing.

The local Fire and Rescue Services Department station chief Sumsoa Rashid said his staff were alerted at 8.28pm that a group of 17 people were in trouble when a water surge occurred at the river, causing a flash flood.

Two hikers managed to escape to safety but nine others, including three women, were trapped on a beach when the surge occurred and waiting for the rescue team who got to the site at 9.36pm.

The rescuers managed to get nine of the hikers to safety around midnight, but six were still missing.

Searchers scouring the area found three bodies trapped under logs at 1.37am today. One was a man, another a woman, while the third has yet to be identified.

The authorities have yet to identify the drowned victims, though their ages are said to be between 25 and 58.

The search-and-rescue team comprising the police, the Civil Defence Force and the state Forestry Department are still looking for the remaining three missing people.