Terengganu fire and rescue officer Azman Alias said the operations had to end at 6pm today after heavy rain at the location.

A man and a woman were found dead near the Jeram Mawar waterfall in Air Putih. They are believed to have drowned when they were suddenly hit by raging waters of the Kemaman river, along with eight other picnickers who are still missing.

“Besides the bad and uncertain weather, we also had to end the SAR operation early because we were worried about the threat of wild animals in the forest reserve,” he said.

The search will resume at 8am tomorrow, with the assistance of tracker dogs and members of the General Operations Force.

The bodies of the two victims were found at separate locations at about 12.45pm today.

The body of the woman was found on the river bank near the Kampung Laut cemetery, while the second body was found on the river bank leading to Sungai Air Putih Forest Lake.

Police also found a car and a motorcycle, believed to belong to the victims, about 2km from where the second body was found.