Kuala Tahan Village Development and Prosperity Committee secretary Sabri Abdullah said they comprised local and foreign tourists who had checked into four resorts at the National Park for the year-end holidays.

“Most of them were initially scheduled to check out on Dec 31, but the water level of the river rose sharply and flooded five areas in the National Park, making it unsafe for them to take the boat ride out.

“The tourists were taken care of by the resort operator, but the situation worsened when the floods persisted, causing a shortage of food and disruption of water supply,” he said when contacted here today.

Sabri said of the total, 15 were foreign tourists and the rest were locals.

The operation to bring them out was mounted with the cooperation of the security forces, Civil Defence Force as well as villagers.

Meanwhile, Jerantut police chief Mazlan Hassan, when contacted, confirmed the operations, saying that it went smoothly and ended at 7pm.